Innovation and Entrepreneurship: EEPA 2023 Winners Announced!

The European Enterprise Promotion Awards (EEPA) are a prestigious celebration of innovation and entrepreneurship in Europe. These awards recognise outstanding projects and initiatives from across the continent that promote entrepreneurship, support business development, and drive innovation. The winners of EEPA 2023 were announced at a ceremony today by the EEPA Jury, the second day of the SME Assembly in Bilbao. Let's take a closer look at the winners in each category and the Grand Jury Prize winner.

Category 1, Promoting the Entrepreneurial Spirit, was announced by Yolanda Alcalá García. The winners are Future Makers - Social Innovation Solutions (Romania). Future Makers is an entrepreneurial education programme that connects and supports young people from Romania and Central and Eastern Europe. Over six editions, Future Makers has supported 290 participating teams, awarding a total of €125,000 in prizes to 29 winners.

Category 2, Investing in Entrepreneurial Skills, was announced by Thomas Cooney. The winner is ResC-EWE - Erhvervshus Midtjylland S/I (Denmark). ResC-EWE promotes sustainable entrepreneurship by supporting future entrepreneurs in creating resilient businesses by fostering risk awareness, risk anticipation, and mitigation strategies as fundamental entrepreneurial skills.

Category 3, Supporting the Digital Transition, was announced by Gilles Vandorpe. The winner is Go Cloud - Piteå Science Park (Sweden). Go Cloud explores the use of digital space to create a new approach to incubator operations, enabling people over a vast geographical region to work together. The project runs two programmes, 'Hangout' for early start-ups and 'Incubator' for full-time businesses.

Category 4, Improving the Business Environment and Supporting the Internationalisation of Business, was announced by Thomas Wobben. The winner of this category is the Break Fellowship - Fundación EOI F.S.P (Spain). The Break Fellowship is an international network of 1,000 women entrepreneurs, providing them with opportunities to develop key skills and boost and internationalise their businesses.

Category 5, Supporting the Sustainable Transition, was announced by Elisabeth Backteman. The winner of this category is Greentech Procurement Accelerator - ECOLAB (France). Greentech Procurement Accelerator aims to accelerate the ecological transition through public procurement of green innovations. Spearheaded by Ecolab, the initiative comprises several actions supporting the ecological transition in France.

Category 6, Responsible and Inclusive Entrepreneurship, was presented by Giovanna Gregori. The winner is Business Program - Startup Refugees (Finland). The Business Program provides participants with information, skills, and an approach toward entrepreneurship with the help of training, market validation, business advice, and events. It promotes the development of business ideas and the establishment of companies on a more stable basis.

In addition to these category winners, special mentions were given to projects in two categories. Promoting Integrity Culture and Compliance Standards among Ukrainian SMEs by the Ukrainian Network of Integrity and Compliance (UNIC) is a collective action to promote ethical, responsible business and implant anti-corruption practices. This project received a special mention in Category 4, while the project Smart Village, by Tabit in Turkey, received a special mention in Category 6. This project is the first smart village in the world that includes advanced agricultural technologies and IoT applications for family farmers living in rural areas.

Grand Jury Prize

And finally, announced by Outi Slotboom, the highly coveted Grand Jury Prize was awarded to MAP | Early Warning Mechanism by IAPMEI - Portuguese Agency for Competitiveness and Innovation. This online, free tool supports early-stage companies, avoiding their closure and the loss of jobs and skills while also building the capacity of entrepreneurs.

These outstanding projects and initiatives represent the best of European entrepreneurship and innovation. They inspire and empower individuals and organisations to pursue their entrepreneurial dreams, adapt to a changing business landscape, and make a positive impact on their communities and the environment.

Congratulations to all the winners and special mentions of EEPA 2023! Your dedication and hard work are truly shaping the future of European entrepreneurship. We look forward to seeing the continued success and growth of these remarkable projects.

The ceremony was also the stage for a surprise celebration in honour of the 10th Anniversary for Thomas Cooney  & Thomas Wobben as EEPA Jury members.

We invite you to stay updated on the event on the Promoting enterprise news portal and also via Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and  LinkedIn. It is possible to check the photos from the event also on Promoting Enterprise | Flickr.