Nicole Kleger is Female Innovator of the Year

Nicole Kleger has been named Innovator of the Year. She was awarded the title Female Innovator of the Year at the Female Innovation Forum at the BMW Group Brand Experience Center in Dielsdorf. It is awarded by Swiss Ladies Drive GmbH to a female founder whose innovation has the potential to sustainably strengthen the Swiss economy by creating jobs and competition.

The Zurich start-up Sallea, co-founded by Kleger, develops edible scaffolding for cultivating whole pieces of fish or meat. They allow three-dimensional cell growth and at the same time improve the texture, taste and nutritional value of cultured meat. So far, only the production of thin layers of animal proteins is possible, which limits the supply to minced meat products or other processed foods.

At the end of 2023, the spin-off from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich won the third phase of the Venture Kick start-up funding program and received support of 150,000 Swiss francs. Sallea's first potential customers had received regulatory approval to sell their products in the USA just a few months earlier.

The recognition award went to Margaux Peltier, co-founder and CEO of Enerdrape. The jury thus recognized the founder's contribution to sustainability. The spin-off from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne has developed the world's first geothermal panel technology. It makes it possible to transform underground infrastructure into renewable heating and cooling sources without drilling using ready-made modules.

Additional prizes were awarded in collaboration with other organizations to Olga Miler from Smartpurse and Ramona Schwarz from Rayne Care as well as to Sara Taubman-Hildebrand for her children's app Tara and Pips and to Lisa Stähli's Hello 50:50 World initiative. ce/mm