The Ladies with the Sweet Mango-Orange Buddha
Convincing for the jury was also the entrepreneurial idea of the young women Alexandra Bisaz (36) and Nicole Reolon (38), with their Lolox Company. The two business women sell in a total of, in the meanwhile 20 sweet shops, approximately 1,500 different kinds of sweets; achieving thereby a turnover of 6.5 million francs.
The concept leading to the prestigious prize was conceived in 1998.At that time the two ladies wanted to sell jelly bears in Davos, but the concept failed due to the lack of sufficient customers. With a second attempt in the cities of Zurich and Lucerne they had better luck. And now, ten years after the tearful flop, the two courageous women have not only won an award, but, in addition, introduced their very own fruit jelly sort to their chain of stores in May 2007. The sweet newcomer is an approximately 5-gram Mango-Orange Buddha and a personal creation, presented in an original display box that bears credit to the pioneering spirit of the young entrepreneurs.
SEF Jury President, Carolina Müller-Möhl, praised the two pioneers, and at the same time consciously addressed the Swiss Business Community, appealing for better chances for women.
According to a questionnaire and comparison between the sexes carried out by the SEF, Switzerland occupies the 27th place in the world rankings concerning gender-specific equality and rights.
Igloos: A Cool Tourist Attraction!
Winner in the services sector was finally Adrian Günter with his Igloo Villages concept. In five igloo villages in Engelberg, Zermatt, Gstaad, Scuol and on the highest mountain in Germany, Adrian Günter offered guests adventurous overnight stays in unique surroundings.
According to the jury, through targeted cooperation with mountain railways and local hoteliers, the igloo villages proved an innovative idea for tourists.
"We would like to expand even further into neighboring countries” says a successful Günter, having achieved the sum of 6,000 cool visitors and overnight stays in such ice hotels.
Dedication, Effort and a Face for World-Peace.
For his efforts on behalf of world peace, the former UNO General Secretary, Kofi Annan, was honored with a special prize on behalf of the SEF, in the form of a wooden crossbow previously belonging to the former Federal Councilor Adolf Ogi. Swissinfo, Agencies and ST (May 4, 2007)
CONTEXT
Small and middle-sized companies (KMU), in other words enterprises with up until 250 employees, form the backbone of the Swiss economy. And an incredible 99.7% of 307,000 Swiss enterprises fall into this category. These companies employ 66.8% of all workers and practically 90% of these small and middle-sized companies are made up of less than ten employees.
FACTS
- The Swiss Economic Forum was established in 1999 by Peter Stähli and Stefan Linder.
- The first Swiss Economic Forum took place in 1999.
- Today, according to the organizers, “the SEF is the most important economic meeting for forwards-striding and innovative Swiss enterprises”.
- The number of possible participants is limited to 1200 and tickets are usually already sold out after an hour.
- SEF Personnel: 6 full-time employees, 12 department leaders, together with 400 helpers for events.