Annabelle Scherhag initially trained as a boat and shipbuilder, followed in 2022 by earning her master craftsman title as Germany's top graduate of that year. Since 2024, she has been the managing director of the Koblenz-based company Wassersportzentrum Grühn GmbH. (Photo: © Alexander Sell / ISB)
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25 November 2025
Annabelle Scherhag is a master boat builder and entrepreneur from Koblenz. She won the Rhineland-Palatinate Founders' Award in the Succession category for continuing a traditional business.
Annabelle Scherhag from Koblenz is one of three winners of the Rhineland-Palatinate Women Founders Award 2025. The boat and ship builder and entrepreneur was honored for the successful takeover of the Grühn water sports center in Koblenz-Metternich.
The prize was awarded in Mainz during the Women Entrepreneurs' Day by Minister of Economic Affairs Daniela Schmitt and Minister for Women Katharina Binz, together with Sandra Baumbach, member of the board of the state-owned investment and structural bank ISB . Endowed with €5.000, Scherhag received the award in the category of "Business Succession." Additional prizes were awarded in the categories of "New Founder," "Young Entrepreneur," and the ISB special prize "Founder Personality."
"With this award to four successful female founders, we want to congratulate and reward those who had the courage to start or take over their own business and are still successful today. Our four winners are exemplary as successful entrepreneurs and can encourage other women to take the step into starting a business or taking over an existing one," said Minister of Economic Affairs Daniela Schmitt to the guests.
"With the Founders' Award, we make visible what women in Rhineland-Palatinate achieve every day: They start businesses, take on responsibility and advance our economy with their ideas," emphasized Women's Minister Katharina Binz.
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Operations management
Operations management
Other award winners in 2025: Category "New Founder": Kathrin Weber, Green Mama Solutions GmbH (Mainz)
Category "Young female entrepreneur": Beatrix Förster, Doderm GmbH (Koblenz)
ISB Special Prize: Master Baker Anna Kern, Kern & Korn Bakery (Ingelheim)
Annabelle Scherhag, 27, took over the Grühn Water Sports Centre GmbH , including the marina and specialist workshop, just over two years ago, initially together with the long-time managing director Ralf Grühn.
For a year now, she has held the reins of the company firmly in her own hands and is the sole boss of the long-established Koblenz specialist with seven employees.
The long-established company specializes in the sale, maintenance, and repair of sports and cabin boats. "Customers appreciate the balance between tradition and innovation within the company. New products (such as electric outboard motors) and new advertising channels have already enabled us to attract new customers."
"Her vocational training is described by company director Annabelle Scherhag as essential for customer communication and workshop organization, and thus for the company's success," the Ministry of Economic Affairs explained in its laudatory speech, outlining the background to the award. Until Annabelle Scherhag took over, the company was run by the founding Grühn family in its second generation – there was no family successor.
Scherhag laid the professional foundation with her apprenticeship and subsequent master craftsman's examination in boat and shipbuilding – achieving a top result nationwide, as the Koblenz native at the age of 24 in 2022 achieved the best examination result of all German master craftsman graduates in this trade! She then gained experience in entrepreneurship and is simultaneously completing a business degree.
In addition to the award presented today, the four winners received a film about their company and a "winner's logo." They can use both for advertising and communication purposes. The Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Ministry for Women's Affairs are providing a total of approximately €60.000 for the female entrepreneurship awards, including prize money, film, and logo. The award is presented every two years.
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