International Impact Forum in Frankfurt: 'Transformation to sustainability can no longer be stopped' / Record number of participants and speakers such as Grupp, Dr. Mohn and Cramer

International Impact Forum in Frankfurt: "Transformation to sustainability can no longer be stopped" / Record number of participants and speakers such as Grupp, Dr. Mohn and Cramer

• More than 1,000 participants
• Panel discussion with Wolfgang Grupp, Dr. Brigitte Mohn and Lea-Sophie Cramer on entrepreneurship and sustainability
• Impact investing is more important than ever in the context of global crises

Frankfurt am Main, 29 May 2026 – More than 1,000 participants, prominent speakers and numerous insights into impact investing topics – this is the conclusion of this year's International Impact Forum (IIF) in Frankfurt. With this year's event, the IIF and its main sponsor DN Group have broken a new record number of participants. Under the motto "Bridging Purpose and Performance", top experts and prominent faces of the impact scene have once again gathered in Frankfurt.

The event started with a top-class panel discussion: Former Trigema CEO Wolfgang Grupp, entrepreneur and Chairman & CEO of the Bertelsmann Stiftung Dr. Brigitte Mohn and successful founder Lea-Sophie Cramer discussed sustainability and responsibility in entrepreneurship. Especially in times of multiple geopolitical crises and challenges, the topic of social responsibility is more important than ever, Dr. Brigitte Mohn is convinced.

"We have also been living social responsibility and entrepreneurial action in the family and in the Bertelsmann company for 7 generations. Social responsibility goes far beyond responsibility for the company," emphasizes Dr. Mohn. For Wolfgang Grupp, too, this is an important aspect of long-term entrepreneurial success. "It is important as an entrepreneur to have a role model function for your employees. This also includes creating a working environment in which employees feel comfortable and can develop."

At Trigema, sustainability and entrepreneurship go hand in hand: "The more sustainably I use resources, the better off are people, society and thus our company," explains Grupp. For Mohn, sustainability and profit-oriented entrepreneurship are also not a contradiction, but the basis for long-term success. In times of global uncertainty, it is all the more important for entrepreneurs to take a stance, the panel participants said in unison. "The companies that take a stance and consistently focus on sustainability will be rewarded. Sustainability is therefore an important success factor," explains successful start-up investor Lea-Sophie Cramer.

In the subsequent panels, the central importance of impact investing was also discussed. For example, DN Group board member Dr. Andreas Rickert, impact investor Kelley Luyken, Susanne Bregy, Managing Director of the German Impact Investing Initiative and EBRD Managing Director Maya Hennerkes discussed current trends and developments in impact investing in Germany and the world. The speakers agreed that impact investments are no longer a niche, but a necessity and that much more private capital should be mobilised to finance sustainability.

In the course of the afternoon, numerous impact companies such as Soapeya, Algene and Epix Sports, among others, presented their business models, underlining the great importance of sustainability and entrepreneurship.

Ole Nixdorff, CEO of DN Group: "We have heard it in almost every panel today: The transformation to a sustainable economy can no longer be stopped. The more complex and challenging global crises become, the more important it is to have impact companies that have a clear positive impact on the environment and society. A measurable social and ecological impact and an economic return go hand in hand."

The next IIF will take place on 24 September, when the successful series of events will be continued in Zurich.

About DN Group, German Sustainability

DN Group, invests in impact companies with high growth opportunities in future-oriented industries such as AI, mobility, circular economy, food, health and energy, and supports them in successful IPOs. DN Group is one of the leading providers of advice on IPOs and capital market transactions and connects fast-growing ESG companies with international institutional investors. DN Group thus pursues a sustainable and stock-market-relevant strategy and advises its portfolio partners on all capital market instruments, regardless of banks.

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