ABOUT THE W.A. DE VIGIER FOUNDATION
Since the foundation’s establishment in 1987, the goal of the W.A. de Vigier Foundation has been to actively invigorate business development and further provide direct financial support (à fonds perdu) to young people with innovative business ideas wishing to build performance and growth oriented businesses in Switzerland.
Until today, the W.A. de Vigier Foundation has awarded
- CHF 14.3 million in seed capital to
- 145 Swiss startups
The impressive track record of W.A. de Vigier Award winners is particularly notable in the Top 100 Swiss Startup ranking, where the top spots are regularly occupied by previous W.A. de Vigier Award recipients. Amongst these winners, there are multiple successful IPOs, company exits and above all, hundreds of newly created jobs.
The awards – a big boost for Switzerland’s innovative power
From hundreds of submitted projects, the jury picks 50 startups to pitch on Selection Day, where they narrow the pool of competitors down to 15. The 15 CEOs subsequently go through an interview process and present their ideas to the Foundation Board, who then picks the final ten nominees. At the Award Ceremony, usually held in June, up to five of those young leaders will receive a W. A. de Vigier Award, each endowed with CHF 100,000.00.