Harsanyi Prize

Awardees

2024 2023

The 2024 Harsanyi Award Has Been Announced

The 2024 Harsányi János Award has been awarded to Jonathan Medved, founder of OurCrowd. The award was presented by the Hungarian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (HVCA) in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the development of the venture capital industry and the promotion of entrepreneurial spirit on a global scale.

Jonathan Medved personally received the award from András Molnár, President of HVCA, and Judit Budai, a member of the HVCA leadership, during the association’s 25th Annual Investment Conference, held on September 24 at the Budapest Music Center.

During the award ceremony, Jonathan Medved expressed his gratitude and highlighted the accomplishments of OurCrowd, which now manages over $2.3 billion in investments, boasts a portfolio of 440 companies, and has achieved 65 successful exits. As a pioneer of the Israeli high-tech sector, he emphasized that AI, cybersecurity, and high-tech industries are the future of investments, not only in Israel but globally as well.

The 2023 Harsanyi Award Has Been Announced

The European Investment Fund (EIF) has won the Harsanyi Award, presented by HVCA for its exceptional contributions to the development of entrepreneurial processes.

The award was presented to Cyril Gouiffes, Head of Social Impact Investing at the European Investment Fund, by Elemér Eszter, President of HVCA, during the HVCA - Portfolio Investment Conference 2023.

In relation to the award, Cyril Gouiffes mentioned that their first activity in Hungary dates back to 2003. Since then, they have supported over 15,000 Hungarian SMEs with investments through Hungarian financial intermediaries, totaling 332 million euros in the form of guarantees and securitizations.

About

Prize

Hungarian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association awards an annual Harsanyi Prize to one individual or an organization recognized for its exceptional contribution to the development of entrepreneurial processes worldwide. The Association, which is among the oldest professional institutions of this kind in Europe, gathering members from private sector, government sector and academia has established the Prize in the name of Hungarian Nobel laureate John Harsanyi to recognize individuals and organizations that help entrepreneurs worldwide leverage their second-movers’ and latecomers’ advantage.

Entrepreneurship

Soon after the fall of socialism in Eastern Europe, Hungary has been among the first countries to actively promote entrepreneurship, recognizing its importance for economic development and transition towards market economy. Following the country’s accession into the European Union, the entrepreneurial sector of Hungary has attracted more regional funds of the EU than of any other EU country, catching up with some of mature economies’.

Knowledge Sharing

Accelerated development of domestic entrepreneurial sector has led to the recognition that market failures of entrepreneurship in developing economies can be improved by targeted efforts, allowing developing countries and their entrepreneurial sectors to leapfrog organic paths of development and catch up with mature entrepreneurial sectors. The Association believes that one of the most persistent market failure of entrepreneurship in developing countries is a limited knowledge base and absorptive capacity of domestic entrepreneurs and thus recognizes individuals and organizations that improve access of entrepreneurs from developing countries to global knowledge base.

Empowerment

The Association believes that supporting the access to global knowledge base, global diffusion of innovation and technological capability building empowers entrepreneurs to make successful strategic choices based on combining the technological and market opportunities. This recognition is based in the fact that early-stage firms are more likely to build competitive innovation capabilities over a short period of time than incumbents.

Contributions

The Harsanyi Prize is a unique global recognition of contributions made to the development of entrepreneurial sectors worldwide, while its laureates are regarded as ambassadors of global economic development. It is awarded at an annual ceremony and industry conference taking place in Budapest, where some of the most important present challenges of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial finance are discussed.

Contact

Harsanyi Prize is organised by the Hungarian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association.
For all inquires contact HVCA.

Legal

The prize was designed by Kinga Nyoszoli, Designer