JA Europe Enterprise Competition: Start Up & Thrive

June 26, 2020

From June 24–26, 2020, JA Greece played host to the annual JA Europe Start Up Competition. Originally scheduled to be held in Athens, the global pandemic forced the annual competition to go fully virtual. Fortunately, JA Greece is no stranger to virtual competitions, having held its national Company of the Year online on May 8, 2020.

The JA Europe Enterprise Challenge is the annual competition associated with the JA Europe Start Up Programme, which gives post-secondary students (aged 19 to 30) the opportunity to start and run their own companies. Held over one academic year (up to 26 weeks, with two to four hours spent per week on the program), 20 JA Europe countries participate. In 2019, 17,000 post-secondary students participated from more than 500 high-education institutions. Through the Start Up Programme, students develop attitudes and skills necessary for personal success and employability as they learn how to run a business. They build entrepreneurial skills and competencies, key to all JA programs. They also learn creative thinking and problem-solving, communication and presentation, teamwork and leadership, and goal-achievement and time management skills.

The 2020 JA Europe Enterprise Challenge included 18 teams from 18 JA Europe locations:

Shampop, Belgium (Flemish), produces vegan single-use shampoo tablets.
Alibabâche, Belgium (French), created sheeting made from agricultural byproducts for silage silos.
WHISP, Bulgaria, helps expatriates integrate into foreign healthcare systems with a navigation guide and do-it-yourself platform.
AID4ALL, Cyprus, provides solutions to people with hearing-loss, compensating with sense of touch.
HydroSAFE, Denmark, manufactures sealing solutions to protect hydraulic systems against oil leaks.
Scannit, Estonia, created an app that help consumers read labels within seconds, highlighting the ingredients according to user needs.
A.I.M. Tracking, Finland, is a GPS-based improves tool tracking for construction companies by allowing them to keep track of their tools and equipment.
EnVision, France, facilitates entrepreneurs’ ecological commitment by creating a local network to introduce companies to environmentally friendly local initiatives.
Dr. IV, Greece, is a mobile app that monitors intravenous infusion in hospitals and clinics using IoT technology, helping understaffed facilities.
DogsGoOut, Lithuania, developed ecological paper bags to collect dog excrement, alleviating the discomfort of carrying it around on daily walks.
GreeLo, Luxembourg, is a matchmaking platform that allows people to sell any surplus of vegetables, fruit, and plants from their own gardens.
STILES, Malta, offers a suite of high-performance, environmentally sensitive decorative tiles created from waste material.
Flitsbel, the Netherlands, is a flash bell that helps users find their bikes easily.
Host SB, Norway, helps users easily connect to Wi-Fi by simply tapping a mobile device or tablet to HOST.
MIZED, Portugal, created plastic chest protection for athletes made of biodegradable and recyclable plastic using 3D printing technology.
VMP–Volunteer Management Platform, Romania, connects individuals seeking volunteer opportunities with organizations, and helps organizers manage volunteers during an event.
FlyingOrgans, Spain, transports organs, medical supplies, and equipment directly via drone, guaranteeing safe, on-time delivery.
PureWorld, United Kingdom, developed a solution for communities and families to obtain clean, safe drinking water from unclean and harmful sources and reduces plastic pollution in oceans.

Learn more about the teams.

Watch the opening ceremony:

In addition to first, second, and third place, the JA Europe Enterprise Competition also features five signature awards:

The Avanade Digital Innovation Signature Award recognizes the young entrepreneurs who were best able to put their digital skills into practice to conceive an innovative business idea or concept.
The Microsoft JA Tech for the Future Award recognizes the efforts of a JA start-up company that features strong gender diversity in terms of team members and demonstrates the best forward-looking technology-driven concept, with strong business potential and sustainability, as well as viability and scalability.
The MetLife Customer Focus Award recognizes the team best able to present innovative ideas leading to customer service excellence, through machine learning, pattern recognition, artificial intelligence, internet of things and other tools and platforms to help simplify and optimize the business processes concentrating on how every interaction best serves the clients, maximizes customer experience, guides decision making processes, identifies diversified audiences, excels at creating value for clients to understand, anticipate, and serve their evolving needs.
The Citi Sustainable Solutions Award recognizes youth entrepreneurs who have incorporated sustainability strategies and practices aimed at environmental and social progress that creates positive community impact into their business practices.
The Alumni Leadership Award is given to outstanding individual students showing that extra initiative and leadership during the program.
Learn more about the signature awards, including criteria for winners and each award’s panel of judges.