Want to get noticed, put your ideas into action and make your mark?

The Young Entrepreneurs Challenge—brought to you by Verizon and Unloc—is an annual event centred around finding the best young talent across Europe.

If you’re 16–25 and have a fresh and innovative tech-led idea, The Young Entrepreneurs Challenge could help you get your business off the ground—or if you’ve already launched, boost it to the next level.

• Last year's finalists' ideas included:
• Wind turbines powered by the airflow of passing vehicles
• Zero-waste edible biofilm to replace plastic in the silage process
• An app and tablet that separates waste at the point of disposal
• Tech that extracts eco-friendly cellulosic fibres from potato waste for use in fashion
• Home-compostable 3D-printed filaments made from algae and waste cooking oils to reduce single-use plastics in the medical industry

The prizes

One-to-one mentorship

You’ll be paired with an enterprise mentor, who will create an individual plan focused on your key priorities. This could be addressing knowledge gaps or helping match you with contacts or services to help get your business off the ground and into orbit. You’ll also get a series of exclusive masterclasses with a variety of industry experts; last year’s masterclasses included business finance, legal structures, R&D, strategic planning and forecasting.

Cash award of £10K 

The overall winner will receive a £10,000 (12,000€*) grant to help accelerate their business idea or start-up.

* Approximate Euros equivalent. The actual prize will be calculated based on the exchange rate at the time of the award. 

Global One Young World Summit

The winner will also get a trip to the One Young World 2024 Global Summit in Montréal. This annual event brings together many of the brightest young leaders from 190+ countries and 250+ organisations. The agenda is packed with events including speeches, workshops and networking events with influential political, business and humanitarian visionaries.

How to apply

• Simply record a short video of yourself that’s at least 60 seconds and a maximum of 90 seconds long – remember to explain how your idea meets the three criteria!
• Click here to apply now 
• Fill out the application form and submit your video
• Sit tight and wait to hear from the judges: finalists are announced in early February 2024

Eligibility

• The competition is open to:
• Individuals between the ages of 16 and 25 years on 1 February 2024
• Residents and/or citizens of the U.K. or the continent of Europe
• Both written and video applications must be in English
• Business proposals must be:
  • Legal in all mainland European countries
  • Not have the purpose of political lobbying
  • Be the applicant’s own idea and not infringe on the copyright, patent or intellectual property of others
• Businesses must be either:
  • Pre-start (not yet trading)
  • No more than three years old and have had an annual turnover of less than £100,000 (120,000€) in its most recent financial year
• Immediate family members of the judging panel are not eligible to apply
• Previous entrants are welcome to re-enter, but previous finalists are not eligible