24 June 2021
French company Wishibam wins international PropTech Innovation Award 2021
• Second and third prizes go to proptechs from Denmark and Israel
• 180 entries from 40 countries
• Total prize money of EUR 40,000
French company Wishibam won over the jury of seven experts at the fifth PropTech Innovation Award to take top prize in this year’s final round. Wishibam, winner in the “Re:Create Retail” category, helps shopping malls and city centres adapt to the digital world and is fighting against the growth of online shopping. How? The solution comprises a digital marketplace for brick-and-mortar retailers, as well as an entire ecosystem of additional tools for logistics, warehouse management, marketing and interaction between visitors.
“The battered retail industry needs digital pioneers like Wishibam. We are therefore particularly pleased that we were able to select a solution from the retail category as the overall winner this year. One of the greatest threats to real estate markets and also to towns and cities overall are empty streets, empty shops, no traffic, no people and no social interaction. Wishibam has come up with a way to prevent this, developing an impressive technological solution that we will also be taking a closer look at with regard to our own retail space.”
Christoph Holzmann, jury member and Management Board member at Union Investment Real Estate GmbH.
The fifth edition of the PropTech Innovation Summit organised by Union Investment and GERMANTECH took “Accelerating the Real Estate Evolution” as its theme. The aim was to find the best digital solutions and business models that address the most pressing issues in the real estate industry in the post-coronavirus world.
The winners of the PropTech Innovation Awards 2021
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The three trophies of this year's PropTech Innovation Awards -
1st place: Wishibam. The picture shows founder Charlotte Journo-Baur (centre) surrounded by well-wishers Klaus Mennickheim, Managing Partner of iMallinvest (left), Christoph Holzmann, COO of Union Investment Real Estate (second from right) and presenter Martin Kloss (right). -
2nd place: The workspace management platform Good Monday from Denmark, winner of the category "Future Proof Office Places". In the middle is Mik Strøyberg, founder and CEO of the company. On the left is Tawab Ghafuri, Head of Product at Union Investment Real Estate Digital GmbH, second from left is Stefan Radermacher, IoT Solution Sales - Connected Building, Bosch.IO., second from right is jury member Christoph Holzmann, COO of Union Investment Real Estate GmbH and presenter Martin Kloss is on the far right. -
Third place: Placense from Israel, winner of the category "Smart & Sustainable: Connected Cities and Buildings". In the middle is Dan Gildoni, co-founder and CEO of the company, together with his daughter. On the right are jury member Christoph Holzmann, COO of Union Investment Real Estate GmbH, and presenter Martin Kloss (far right). On the left are Elsbeth Quispel, Head of Real Estate Strategy & Innovation at Cushman & Wakefield, next to her colleague Verena Bauer, Head of Marketing & Communications.
At the Summit, second prize was awarded to Good Monday from Denmark, winner of the “Future Proof Office Places” category. Third prize went to Placense from Israel, winner in the “Smart & Sustainable: Connected Cities and Buildings” category. The PropTech Innovation Award 2021 carried total prize money of EUR 40,000.
“Who would have thought 15 months ago that we would need an app to go to a restaurant or shopping centre. That shows how digitalisation has accelerated during the pandemic. The trend is now unstoppable. Going forward, digitalisation will play a key role in ensuring our properties remain viable.”
Jens Wilhelm, a member of the Management Board at Union Asset Management Holding AG.
The PropTech Innovation Award 2021 in pictures
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Jens Wilhelm, CEO of Union Asset Management Holding AG, (centre) speaking at the start of the fifth PropTech Innovation Awards. On the left is Maria Gross, Managing Director of GERMANTECH, on the right presenter Martin Kloss. -
Verena Bauer (left), Head of Marketing & Communications, and Elsbeth Quispel, Head of Real Estate Strategy & Innovation at our partner Cushman & Wakefield moderated the category session "Smart & Sustainable: Connected Cities and Buildings". -
Tawab Ghafuri (right), Head of product at Union Investment Real Estate Digital GmbH and Stefan Radermacher, IoT Solution Sales - Connected Building at Bosch.IO, moderated in the Future Proof Office Places category. -
This is what it was like behind the scenes of our PropTech Innovation Award. -
Musical relaxation during the breaks was provided by the Düsseldorf cover band "Neuton", who played live from the Hamburg studio. -
The category "Re: Create Retail" was moderated by the Managing Partners of iMallinvest, Klaus Mennickheim (left) and Steffen Hofmann. -
Norman Meyer (left), Head of Digital Services, and Nathanie Ursinus-Vasiliadis, Senior Innovation Manager/Head of Innovation Scouting at Drees & Sommer, led through the category "Supporting Real Estate Value Chains". -
Some sessions were summarised in the picture. -
Before the live pitches started, there was a "Fireside Chat" with Sander Van de Rijdt, co-founder of Planradar (left). The company for digital documentation and communication in construction and real estate projects came third in the PropTech Innovation Award 2017 and has grown enormously since then.
180 digital innovators – startups and also established companies – from 40 countries entered the competition in five categories. The event was again held online due to the pandemic.
Press contact
Für Union Investment Real Estate GmbH
Fabian Hellbusch
Head of Real Estate Marketing, Communication