Working together for better educational opportunities in Bangladesh

Hiking for education and future opportunities

E&V: Mr Laue, what is the idea behind the PATRIZIA Hiking Challenge 2026?

Jörg Laue: The Hiking Challenge brings together people from our professional circles to hike together and raise funds for a specific project run by the PATRIZIA Foundation. This year, the focus is on the PATRIZIA Child Care Mymensingh in Bangladesh. Our collective fundraising target is 170,000 euros. The money will go towards building a children’s centre where, in future, more than 200 children aged between 18 months and six years will be cared for and receive early childhood support every year.

E&V: What do you think is the significance of combining hiking with social engagement?

Jörg Laue: During the challenge, we spend many hours out and about together – away from offices, conferences and the usual industry events. This inevitably leads to conversations. At the same time, there’s a shared goal that goes beyond the hike itself. That’s what makes it so appealing to me: you experience something together, get to know people in a different light, and engage very directly with the project you’re undertaking.

E&V: You’ve been involved with the project for some time now. What is it about it that has personally won you over?

Jörg Laue: What convinces me most of all is that the project tackles the issue on several fronts simultaneously. In Mymensingh, many families lack reliable childcare. As a result, older siblings – usually girls – often have to look after the younger children and are unable to go to school themselves. So when the young children are looked after, it’s not just these 200 children who benefit. Their siblings can go to school and their mothers have the opportunity to find work and earn their own income.

E&V: What exactly will happen with the donations from this year’s Challenge?

Jörg Laue: They will go towards completing the site in Mymensingh. This project involves much more than just a nursery. Plans include, amongst other things, a health centre and a pharmacy, training programmes in sewing and IT, and a shop selling products from a local cooperative. In addition, there will be services for families and women from the surrounding area. It is therefore about creating an infrastructure that combines education, health and economic opportunities.

E&V: One of the Foundation’s key priorities is long-term impact. How is this reflected in this project?

Jörg Laue: The PATRIZIA Foundation supports its projects for at least 25 years. In Mymensingh, too, consideration was given right from the start to how day-to-day operations could be financed in the long term. Part of the building is therefore let out; the income generated from this is intended to cover a large proportion of the nursery’s running costs. Furthermore, training programmes on early childhood education are also set to reach institutions in the surrounding area. In this way, a single children’s centre can, over time, develop into something that extends far beyond its original scope.

E&V: How does the PATRIZIA Foundation finance its work overall?

Jörg Laue: The project work is funded through donations, corporate partnerships and initiatives such as the Hiking Challenge. There is one distinctive feature here: PATRIZIA SE and the founding family cover the administrative costs. This means that 100 per cent of the donations go directly to the projects. The Foundation is now active in 15 countries, where it supports, amongst other things, schools, training centres, healthcare services and accommodation.

E&V: Engel & Völkers Commercial Berlin is supporting the Challenge as a sponsor. What role does the property sector play in an initiative like this?

Jörg Laue: The Challenge has grown over the years partly because companies and individuals are willing to support it together. The property sector is actually a natural fit for this. Many of us have known one another for years through projects and transactions. At the Hiking Challenge, we meet in a completely different context. Of course, the aim is to raise money for Mymensingh. But I think it’s just as important that people engage with the project and understand what their support achieves on the ground. This can then lead to a longer-term commitment.