Debrecen4U
November 10, 2025
This year’s “Entrepreneurs of the Year” and county‑level Prima Award winners have been announced
The county organization of the National Association of Entrepreneurs and Employers once again presented the Entrepreneur of the Year awards and the county Prima awards. In his welcoming speech, the county president, Károly Balogh, highlighted that today Debrecen is not only a city of economy but also of culture, education, and innovation, becoming more and more exciting and attractive.
The 2025 Hajdú-Bihar County Entrepreneur of the Year and Prima Award Gala began with a special performance by Zoltán Miller and Bernadett Vágó. The Entrepreneur of the Year awards were presented in the categories of industry, agriculture, trade, innovation, hospitality, and responsible multinational company of the year.
Károly Balogh highlighted in his welcoming speech that Debrecen is not only an economy but also a city of culture, education, and innovation, becoming more and more exciting and attractive. The county president of VOSZ (National Association of Entrepreneurs and Employers) added that the county is also part of this development, and when a region gets close to full employment, when the presence of international companies increases wages, it carries a danger from the perspective of entrepreneurs and employers.“ Along with the increase in wages, purchasing power also increases, which creates a new, stronger local consumer base. This can open a new chapter in the lives of many businesses. One of the most important qualities of good entrepreneurs is that they perceive the winds of change and are able to change in time, are able to reinterpret their own role, and give new meaning to their company,” highlighted the county president.
László Papp emphasized in his acceptance speech that Debrecen has a clear vision for the future: a city where local values and global opportunities reinforce each other and ensure development. The mayor drew attention to the fact that Debrecen has always been driven forward by strong, solid value-based communities, where knowledge, economic performance, innovation, cultural values, and entrepreneurial spirit work together to reinforce each other. “The secret of our city lies in the people, in cooperation, in those people who believe in each other. In the teacher who imparts knowledge, in the entrepreneur who dares to take risks for the sake of development, in the employee who creates, in the researcher who discovers something new, or in the artist who mobilizes our intellectual energies to give us an experience,” summarised the mayor.
At the award ceremony, among the winners of ten social categories, actress Réka Tenki, among others, received the county Prima award.“ My childhood, the moments I got from here, I feed on them, I work on them, I believe in them, and I bring this from Debrecen,” the actress emphasized.
Ákos Komáromi and Ákosné Komáromi, as well as Anikó Asbóth, also received the Prima Award. The Prima Special Prize was awarded to the artist couple Veronika Végh and Szabolcs Csáki. This year, unusually, the Príma Audience Award was also presented for the first time, which was received by Zoltán Tordai.
An important announcement was also made at the event. On Saturday, the VOSZ MultiMentor SME Supplier Program was launched in Debrecen. Potential suppliers for international companies are selected after sectoral and financial pre-screening with a qualification system developed in cooperation with PWC Hungary.
The Entrepreneur of the Year award in the industry category was given to Attila Fábián, Managing Director of Vámosgép Kft. In the agriculture category, Gábor Vaszkó, director of Agri-Corn Kft., won, and in the trade category, Ernő Hadnagy, owner-manager of Daniella Kereskedelmi Kft. István Keczán, owner-manager of Keczán és Társa Kft., also won (innovation category), as did Gábor Tóth, owner-manager of Mokkagasztro Kft. (hospitality category).
The Responsible Multinational Company category was won by Krones Hungary Kft.
Based on the votes of the public, this year’s National Entrepreneur of the Year award will be presented to Gábor Tóth, the winner of the category, in Budapest on December 5, 2025, on Hungarian Entrepreneurs’ Day.
Source and photo credit:debrecen.hu
