“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,” said Christoph Holzmann, jury member and Management Board member at Union Investment Real Estate GmbH. “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.”
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.
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,” said Jens Wilhelm, a member of the Management Board at Union Asset Management Holding AG.
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.
