„Now more than ever" – Inspiration for more impact
2025-06-30 “You can bury your head in the sand or say ‘now more than ever’,” said Constanze Klotz, co-founder of the social enterprise Bridge & Tunnel, in her keynote speech at the Utopia x Avenir summer festival. “And we said: now more than ever!”
As a textile manufacturer that employs women* without formal qualifications as seamstresses, Bridge & Tunnel combines a circular economy with social impact. Anchored in the guiding principle “Talents over diploma”, the social enterprise from Hamburg-Wilhelmsburg has already won various awards, including the German Sustainability Award for Products. In her keynote speech, Constanze Klotz used the story of the start-up to show how many surprises start-up processes can hold.
Right at the beginning, Utopia founder Corinna Krome greeted the audience with the words: “You give hope in these times”. She was referring to the current social challenges and the transformative power that an active community can unleash. On June 26, people interested in impact start-ups came together in Katzenstraße to network and find inspiration. For example, the guests shared their offers and wishes in the search-and-offer exchange. This created new connections in the community and strengthened existing ones.n
Giving founders a home in Lüneburg
“Giving founders a home” - that is the aim of Utopia Under this motto, the team led by Corinna Krome once again awarded a start-up grant this year, supporting those interested in starting a business with a co-working space and advice. This means they are very close to the local start-up scene: Lüneburg recorded 34 percent more start-ups in 2024 than in the previous year, reported Utopia. This is a great development for the community in Lüneburg and motivates us to further strengthen the sustainable start-up ecosystem locally.
Utopia Lüneburg as a social and sustainable start-up center and Avenir Lüneburg as a collectively organized social enterprise are not only beacons for social innovation in and around Lüneburg. They are also part of the Leuphana Social Innovation Community and enrich it with their visions and approaches. This was once again made tangible by the inspiring exchange and strong sense of community at this year's summer party in Katzenstraße.
