Berlin
The German Association of Women Entrepreneurs (Verband deutscher Unternehmerinnen, VdU), Global Digital Women (GDW), and Amazon are launching the second round of the initiative “Entrepreneurs of the Future” – this time exclusively for women. The program aims at getting small businesses equipped for the digital economy.

On the agenda: expanding brick-and-mortar stores with online shops, tapping into online marketplaces, leveraging exports via the internet and building brands.

With today’s kick-off, 20 female business owners and CEOs of small businesses with less than 20 employees begin to start or expand their e-commerce business. On their agenda: establishing their own brand online, expanding their brick-and-mortar stores with an online shop, tapping into online marketplaces or leveraging their exports via the internet. Digital experts including experienced female entrepreneurs, Amazon Marketplace sellers and e-commerce bloggers will coach the female owners of small businesses.

“We want to digitize and expand our shop in Lindau, which has more than a 60-year-old tradition,” said Lena Ellensohn, one of the candidates. She is the managing director in the third generation at Lindauer, a company, which sells reading aids and writing instruments under its own brand name.

Female entrepreneurs were able to apply for the program since September 2017 by presenting their biggest challenges on their way into the digital economy in form of a cover letter or video. That is what Mona Glock, owner of the Erdmannhausen-based company “MixDeinBrot”, did. Her application video is accessible here.

The coaches, Amazon, the German Association of Women Entrepreneurs and Global Digital Women have invited 20 out of 160 applicants to participate in the program.

Kick-off in Berlin

Today, the female entrepreneurs met for the first time with their coaches in Amazon‘s Berlin office to start working on their individual action plans. Each one of the businesses faces different challenges, which they want to tackle during the course of the program. Barbara Gebhart, Managing Director of the work clothing business “Berufsbekleidung Gebhart” from Landsberg am Lech that was established in 1889, would like to sell her products online in the future. The Cologne-based company “desiary”, on the other hand, is planning to expand its business internationally. In their online shop, “desiary” sells design and home accessories – and supports customers in finding suitable and personalized gifts.

“’Female Entrepreneurs of the Future’ aims at supporting female business owners by laying the foundations for e-commerce and exports,” said Dr. Markus Schöberl, Director Seller Services at Amazon Germany, who is responsible for the program.

“The digital economy offers great opportunities for female entrepreneurs – which should be taken advantage of. Our joint initiative is intended to provide the initial push,” said Tjien Onaran, initiator of Global Digital Women and partner of “Female Entrepreneurs of the Future”.

The German Association of Women Entrepreneurs is also a partner of the program. President Stephanie Bschorr: “The program focuses on interacting with fellow candidates and the coaches. They can learn from each other and give each other advice – in order to select suitable sales channels, or when calculating costs and setting up effective marketing strategies.”

Together with their coaches, the participants will develop action plans and implement them. They also receive training on digital commerce topics including:

• E-commerce basics
• Customer centricity and retrievability online
• Product and range design, product listing, content design
• Distribution channels, including domestic and international marketplaces
• Marketing, promotions, deals, brand development and brand protection
• Specific know-how on Amazon Marketplace and Prime
• Logistics in e-commerce
• Internationalization and exports
• Communication: Self-PR, social media and B2B communication

At the end of the program, the female entrepreneurs who were most successfully will be honored by a top-level jury of representatives from the German Association of Women Entrepreneurs (Verband deutscher Unternehmerinnen), Global Digital Women, and Amazon as well as from academia and politics. Award categories include “From Offline to Online”, “Brand Building”, “Marketplaces”, and “Exports”.

You can find more news about Amazon and the program at www.amazon.de/unternehmerinnenderzukunft, on our info page "A to Z" www.amazon.de/a-z, on our Amazon Blog www.amazon.de/a-z/blog, and on Amazon's Twitter channel for German corporate news @AmazonNewsDE.

The participating businesses are:

The coaches of “Female Entrepreneurs of the Future”:

  • Alexandra Zanders, e-commerce consultant at Podeanu UG, Amazon Marketplace seller
  • Anna Nordlander, e-commerce expert, The Friendly Swede, Amazon Marketplace seller
  • Christiane Jordan, founder of Madame Jordan, winner of the first round of “Entrepreneurs of the Future”
  • Constanze Wolff, Managing Director at TTC Fashion Trade GmbH
  • Gregor Czempiel, Managing Director at Latupo GmbH – a company of the Wünsche Group, Amazon Marketplace seller
  • Julia Tschawdarow, RatePAY GmbH, Head of Marketing and PR
  • Karin Hallinger, founder and Managing Director of Hallingers Genuss Manufaktur and Amazon Marketplace seller
  • Klaus Forsthofer, CEO of Marktplatz1, Amazon Marketplace seller and coach in the first round of “Entrepreneurs of the Future”
  • Miriam Wohlfarth, founder and CEO RatePAY
  • Nadine Bessenbach, e-commerce expert, Bonstato, Amazon Marketplace seller
  • Nora Hofbauer, e-commerce expert, Gourmesso, Amazon Marketplace seller
  • Patrick Hallinger, founder and CEO of Hallingers Genuss Manufaktur, Amazon Marketplace seller and coach in the first round of “Entrepreneurs of the Future”
  • Peter Höschl, e-commerce expert, operator of www.shopanbieter.de and coach in the first round of “Entrepreneurs of the Future”
  • Sandra Olzick, e-commerce expert, Medizinprodukte Berlin, Amazon Marketplace seller
  • Stephanie Oppitz, founder of Windelmanufaktur and winner of the first round of “Entrepreneurs of the Future”
  • Stefan Neubig, founder & CEO of Sonnenglas, Amazon Marketplace seller

… and more.

About Amazon:
Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, and Alexa are some of the products and services pioneered by Amazon. For more information, visit www.amazon.com/about and follow @AmazonNews.