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More than 300 entrepreneurs attended the Rural Entrepreneurs’ Night on November 11., supported by Volkswagen. The competition attracted 200 applications from 143 businesses across 111 municipalities, exceeding last year’s participation.
A professional jury recognized micro, small and medium-sized businesses in nine categories, alongside special awards, a public vote and recognition for journalists covering rural enterprise.
The main award went to the Bittmann siblings’ family business, which combines traditional lavender cultivation with modern distillation technology and product development. Lavender Tihany makes cosmetics and food products from locally grown and distilled lavender. Its recognition coincides with the centenary of lavender cultivation in Tihany.
The awards were established by the Modern & Stílusos Vidék business community, known as MSVK, to raise the profile of businesses operating outside Budapest.
An analysis by MSVK and business information provider OPTEN identified 297,017 micro, small and medium-sized enterprises outside Budapest, compared with 163,482 in the capital. Businesses outside Budapest account for nearly two-thirds of Hungary’s SMEs.
These companies employed 983,544 people in 2025, almost 27,000 more than in 2021. That is equivalent to more than one-fifth of Hungary’s total employment of 4.675 million, recorded by the Central Statistical Office in July 2026.
Their combined net revenue approached HUF 38,900 billion in 2025, more than twice the HUF 19,000 bln generated by Budapest-based SMEs.
Small businesses outside the capital had been operating for an average of 17.6 years, compared with 15 years for their Budapest counterparts. For medium-sized businesses, the respective figures were 18 years and 14.2 years.
“Nearly one million people work at small and medium-sized businesses outside Budapest, yet they rarely receive the spotlight. With the Rural Entrepreneur of the Year award, we show that these companies not only create jobs locally but are also innovative, developing dynamically, operating responsibly and actively participating in their local communities,” said Ida Petrik, the event’s creator and MSVK’s founding managing director.
“This year’s winners also demonstrated how diverse the rural business community is, including a lavender producer, an IT company, a high-tech stone business and a local pharmacy. This is the true face of the rural economy,” she added.
Leadership succession is expected to become an increasingly important issue for businesses outside the capital. According to EY’s Entrepreneur Barometer, published in September 2026, only 14% of the Hungarian businesses surveyed had a formal succession plan.
OPTEN’s data show that approximately one-third of SMEs outside Budapest are family-owned. More than 100,000 such businesses employ nearly 420,000 people.
“SMEs outside Budapest account for more than one-fifth of the country’s employment and, on average, have been operating longer than their Budapest counterparts. This is a stable economic base embedded in local communities,” said Hajnalka Csorbai, OPTEN’s strategic and operational director and president of the Joint Venture Association.
“Preserving this role requires a predictable operating environment, support for investments that improve efficiency and succession planning that begins in good time,” she added.
The analysis also highlighted the diversity of businesses outside the capital. Trade accounted for 37% of their revenue and manufacturing for 17%, compared with agriculture’s 6% share.
Márk Bogár, managing director of Sárréti Chilifarm, received the Young Rural Entrepreneur of the Year award.
The remaining category winners, divided where applicable by business size, were:
Cornides received the rural e-commerce special award, while Tornácos won the rural brand special award. Szentgrál-Patika won the public vote.
The media awards recognized Krisztina Kemény for her Képmás magazine article “Egy gyerekkori álomért tűzön-vízen át” and Enikő Gécsek-Tóth for her series on rural entrepreneurs on Kossuth Rádió.
Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles supported the gala as its naming partner for the second consecutive year. The event was first held in 2025.
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