Werner Bonhoff Prize Against the §§ Jungle

The Werner Bonhoff Prize "against the §§-jungle" is an award endowed with €25,000 by the Werner Bonhoff Foundation, which addresses entrepreneurs and founders nationwide. It honors practical cases in which bureaucratic obstacles and administrative impediments in everyday business life are systematically documented. Through participation in the "Bureaucracy Therapy" project, authentic experience reports are created and made publicly available in an online case collection. The aim is to use this as a basis to provide impulses for administrative simplification and the reduction of unnecessary bureaucracy, as well as to stimulate a constructive dialogue between business and administration. The award particularly recognizes highly relevant, original, and significant obstacles as well as the demonstrated entrepreneurial initiative in overcoming them.

Applications can be submitted until 31.12.2026. Participation requires entrepreneurial activity in Germany, submission of a detailed description of the bureaucratic hurdle via the online form of "Bureaucracy Therapy," and consent to the Werner Bonhoff Foundation’s privacy policy. The selection of awardees is based on the relevance and impact of the case, the severity of the documented obstacle, and proof of entrepreneurial activity. The prize money creates a financial incentive that rewards creative solutions against administration-related barriers while simultaneously strengthening social cohesion. The program offers small and medium-sized enterprises a platform to initiate structural improvements and effectively contribute their experiences.