JA Europe's Gen-E Celebrates Young Entrepreneurs
July 14, 2022
JA Europe’s Gen-E festival, the largest entrepreneurship event in the region, concluded today with the awards ceremony in Tallinn, Estonia.
Hosted by JA Estonia, students from 41 European countries showcased their cutting-edge business ideas both online and on-site. The Gen-E Festival combines two annual European entrepreneurship contests: the JA Company Program Company of the Year (upper-secondary students) and the JA Start-Up Program’s Start-up of the Year award (university students).
JA Europe was able to hold the Gen-E festival in person for the first time since the two events were combined in 2020. This was also the region’s first in-person Company of the Year competition since 2019. Though the festival culminated in a three-day in-person event, competition stages took place over the course of one month:
June 15: Student companies submitted their company reports and pitch decks for their products or services.
July 4–8: In the jury interviews, which were conducted virtually, students demonstrated negotiation and sales conversation as a team. Interviews also allow students to demonstrate the scope of skills and competencies they have developed through the JA Company Program
July 13: In Tallinn, students took the stage for public presentations of their companies. Stage presentations allow students to demonstrate the efficacy of the team’s business skills, including discussion of how to connect with a potential business partner, such as an investor or a distributor.
July 14: During the in-person stands exhibition, students present and market their businesses and demonstrate how they offer their products or services to customers.
Learn more about the competition criteria and guidelines at gen-e.eu/competition-guidelines.
Meet the Company of the Year Teams
Dostignuća Mladih (JA Serbia): MOVEABLY is a digital platform that operates on the stock exchange principle, acting as an intermediary between carriers and potential customers.
Entreprendre Pour Apprendre (JA France): Veget’ACTEURS offers and delivers baskets of fresh seasonal vegetables grown using sustainable farming practices.
Fonden for Entreprenørskab (JA Denmark): Atlas’s app SmartDrop digitizes cloakroom tags, so you never have to worry about losing your coat-check ticket.
Fundacja Młodzieżowej Przedsiębiorczości (JA Poland): Bloom produces scented soy candles that are healthier and more environmentally friendly than paraffin candles.
JA Austria: Drinkhalm is the drink that comes in a straw, specially designed for those who seek a bubbly, refreshing experience but don’t want to use plastic bottles.
JA Bulgaria: Solar Stickers produces water bottle stickers that indicate the temperature of the contents. When the temperature of the water in the bottle exceeds 40 degrees, the sticker changes color from orange to yellow.
JA Česko (JA Czech): Booder created and sells binders that help transgender boys tighten their breasts to cover their feminine features.
JA Cyprus: Nutrica+ produces and sells a nutritious powder made from eggshells.
JA Estonia: DryCycle’s saddlebags include a waterproof saddle cover to keep the seat dry on rainy days.
JA Georgia: IRIGO produces and sells automatic watering systems for house plants. The system uses a moisture sensor and unique algorithm that calculates the right time to water a plant based on the soil moisture level.
JA Iceland: HAF Vitamin is a nutrition supplement made from Chondrus Crispus sea moss, a nutritious ingredient found on the shores of Iceland. It contains 92 of the 102 minerals that the body needs per day to maintain good health, and it is rich in vitamins A and B1, iron, iodine, calcium, magnesium, and protein.
JA Isle of Man: Atlas’s H2sOap is an effervescent soap tablet made from scratch that, when added to water, reacts to form a foaming hand soap.
JA Italia (JA Italy): Eion Games’s Plot is an innovative card game based on debates surrounding famous conspiracy theories and the development of a critical mind.
JA Lietuva (JA Lithuania): Dentinullas’s organic and environmentally friendly toothpaste powder is 100% natural, free of microplastics, free of sulphates, and suitable for vegans.
JA Macedonia: Beauty and Health’s eco-friendly toothpaste is made from all-natural and healthy ingredients.
JA Magyarország (JA Hungary): Parrot Pallet creates and sells furniture made from pallets and fruit boxes.
JA Portugal: PolenData builds modular and intelligent houses for pollinators. The houses contains sensors that provide important information to increase the levels of pollination in a farm, and ultimately increase the farm’s productivity.
JA Romania: EcoNavis makes vessels designed to collect the waste floating on the surfaces of recreational lakes and other aquatic environments.
JA Slovenia: Resina produces cosmetics and chewing gums made from spruce resin. Products include lip balm, salve with calendula, salve with lavender, and two flavors of chewing gum.
JA Slovensko (JA Slovakia): Ligo’s toothpaste tablets are an ecological replacement for traditional toothpaste, which is often sold in non-recyclable plastic tubes.
JA Spain: HelpUp aims to reinvent the way people volunteer in Spain by connecting NGOs that need volunteers with young people who want to help.
JA Turkey: ADAxy aims to destroy viruses, bacteria, and microorganisms in living spaces through technology focused on health, informatics, robotics, and software.
JA Ukraine: UA'ndWe makes and sells Ukrainian national cuisine for the Estonian market.
JA-YE Israel: Juno aids those suffering from anaphylaxis in need of epinephrine.
JA-YE Malta: Easybeads advocates and raises awareness about the struggles of stress and anxiety.
Jong Ondernemen (JA Netherlands): In board game TourTime, players build their own camping experiences with tents, caravans, and chalets as they travel through the Netherlands and answer questions about Dutch-speaking countries.
Jonk Entrepreneuren (JA Luxembourg): Citygum is the first-ever ecologically friendly Luxembourgish chewing gum.
Junior Achievement Ireland: Framaí Chonamara designs and produces distinctive, decorative 3D box frames for the tourism market using local, sustainable materials.
Junior Achievement Latvia: ThreeCube’s learning solution uses an app and 3D toy mini-figures that support children’s developing knowledge in math, language, and art skills through augmented-reality technology.
Junior Achievement Moldova: Royal Rafael sells a practical, comfortable, and stylish line of clothing for girls and women.
Junior Wirtschafterleben (JA Germany): Carducation believes the source of all good lies in play. The aim of the game is to save the climate as a group, but each individual player must also keep an eye on his or her money reserves and invest efficiently and strategically.
Les Jeune Entreprises (JA Belgium-French): Don't Be Shy sells handmade, environmentally friendly, and cost-effective period panties.
Montenegro (a JA Europe observer country): Obex produces, installs, and services of devices for automatic and remote door and gate openers.
Nuori Yrittäjyys (JA Finland): Gente UF designs bag organizers made of recycled fabrics. Each bag organizer is washable, handmade, and unique.
Ung Företagsamhet Sverige (JA Sweden): Noll Deponi aims to reduce waste with a hydraulic-based solution that uses gas springs to press the panes out of broken doors and windows.
Ungt Entreprenørskap (JA Norway): HC Sealift helps wheelchair users board recreational boats and participate in activities at sea.
Vlajo (Belgium-Flanders): 7 layers creates rings out of old, broken, out-of-use skateboards. Each ring consists of seven layers of wood, hence the name of the company.
Young Enterprise Switzerland: MOREinga makes and sells pasta and pesto made out of the moringa plant.
Young Enterprise United Kingdom: Ocean Revolution sells products made from plastic beach waste.
Σωματείο Επιχειρηματικότητας Νέων (JA Greece): Microgreens created Microwonders, a fully automated climate chamber that allows consumers to grow microgreens quickly and easily.
Meet the Start-up of the Year Teams
Entreprendre Pour Apprendre (JA France): GoBento produces recyclable, reusable, and sustainable bento boxes. Customers can scan the QR code on the bento box to order a meal directly from one of the partner restaurants through an app.
Fonden for Entreprenørskab (JA Denmark): Roboe developed and produced a thread-cutting device attached to a programmable robotic arm (also called a cobot) for the metal manufacturing industry, decreasing manual work time by 90%.
Genç Başarı Eğitim Vakfı (JA Turkey): Babyistan offers incubator baby tracking that allows parents to follow their babies in newborn intensive care.
JA Albania: Switch Technologies offers customizable programming courses based on a company’s needs and young people’s abilities. Course enrollees can learn the skills they need to start building a career in tech development.
JA Bulgaria: AskTheCP’s web-based advice system has everything doctors need to make treatment decisions. The smart algorithm includes the most up-to-date European and local guidelines, a database of all available antibiotics, and each hospital’s antibiotic resistance.
JA Cyprus: Kolokasi Delicacies adds variety to vegetarian diets with its locally produced kolokasi-based food products.
JA Estonia: The Find Your Shade app helps consumers identify the right shade of foundation, saving time and money by eliminating numerous trips to stores to find and try different products.
JA Israel: Moosh offers a powerful AI solution for gift-giving using an algorithm to help find the perfect gift.
JA Portugal: PawPet’s user-friendly web-based app contains listings of pet care services, simplifies pet adoptions, allows users to report lost and found pets, and helps build community.
JA Romania: SignText uses neural networks and computer vision to recognize sign language via video and translates it into text or audible speech.
JAYE Malta Foundation: Plastopex recycles plastic waste from 3D printing and creates a unique product that benefits both the customer and the environment.
Jong Ondernemen (JA Netherlands): ZandZwiffer found that workers in the paving industry often face injury due to constant bending, kneeling, and standing. The ZandZwiffer product helps posture, saving workers’ strength, energy, and time.
Jonk Entrepreneuren (JA Luxembourg): The WeConnect platform acts as an intermediary in intergenerational cohabitation, allowing students to find reasonably priced housing and offering seniors a solution to break their isolation.
Junior Acheivement Latvia: Robo Mobility’s robotic tug system allows hospitals to move beds with ease.
Junior Achievement Aprender a Emprender (JA Spain): Futura’s blockchain-based technology provides solutions for the ticketing sector and opens doors to new markets.
Les Jeune Enterprises (JA Belgium–France): Colz'iso’s biosourced rapeseed straw insulation blocks are a natural alternative to traditional insulation for new and renovated buildings.
Nuori Yrittäjyys (JA Finland): Troa NY designed a web application that allows consumers to find nearby supermarkets selling discounted products approaching their expiration dates.
Ungt Entreprenørskap (JA Norway): MMEDS produces a sustainable and carbon neutral marine collagen powder from white fish waste.
Vlajo (JA Belgium–Flanders): Arkai's adjustable bra for young women grows with teenagers from a size 70A to size 90C without decreasing in quality over time.
Young Enterprise UK: HearnProtect is an in-ear model of ear protection that allows noise to travel through the ear while providing near-maximum hearing.
Σωματείο Επιχειρηματικότητας Νέων (JA Greece): Drug n Drop is a complete smart system that allows companies to manage expired pharmaceuticals using integrated sensors and scanners.
The Awards
Company of the Year Awards
The BNY Mellon Future First℠ Award celebrates the Gen-E mini-companies that are creating unique business solutions to a pressing environmental, social, or governance (ESG) challenge throughout the JA Company Program.
Winner: Noll Deponi, Ung Företagsamhet Sverige (JA Sweden)
The Citi Foundation Client Focus Award recognizes the student company that excels at understanding and adapting to customer needs thus creating value for the customer.
Winner: Booder, JA Česko (JA Czech)
The FedEx Access Award emphasizes the importance of “global access” in a more than ever interconnected world. We aim to empower the next generation of Europe’s entrepreneurs to embrace global opportunities and to seek partners and customers beyond the national borders. Winners demonstrate they are driven by innovation, connecting new markets, fueling community development, and addressing sustainability in their companies.
In 2007, FedEx became the founding sponsor with JA Worldwide to expand regional JA Company of the Year competitions around the world. FedEx has continued its support annually through sponsorship of the signature award, which honors the JA student businesses that best exhibit the principles of global connectivity—driven by innovation, connecting to new markets, fueling community development, and sustainable and social responsibility. Each year, this award incentivizes young JA entrepreneurs to seek higher achievement and recognition at regional JA competitions around the world by creating products and services that improve lives.
Winner: Carducation, Junior Wirtschafterleben (JA Germany)
The PMIEF Best Project Plan Award recognizes excellence in project management practices including superior planning, organization, innovation, execution, and positive impacts on society.
Winner: MOREinga, Young Enterprise Switzerland
The ManpowerGroup Ready for Work Award recognizes those teams that have best built work readiness skills during the competition. The winning team will display ability, likability and drive, all of which are integral to learnability, and their project should nurture and inspire these qualities in others. Learnability is a key component of work readiness. It means the desire and ability to grow and adapt your skill sets to remain employable throughout your working life.
Winner: Carducation, Junior Wirtschafterleben (JA Germany)
The Alumni Leadership Award, given with support from Delta Airlines, recognizes individuals who demonstrate outstanding leadership skills, that impact their team throughout the JA Company Program.
Winners:
Nina Porubänová – Slovakia
Agniete Kucinskaite – Lithuania
Florian Brenner – Switzerland
Elias Gherbi – France
Iver Høgden Mæle – Norway
Nefeli Andreou – Cyprus
Arturs Kornejevs – Latvia
Alexandros Katsaronas – Greece
Public Choice Award, given with support from AT&T, is selected by all Gen-E participants, who voted for their favorite Gen-E company.
Winner: Juno, JA-YE Israel
JA Europe Innovation of the Year, Upper Secondary Level, recognizes ground-breaking innovation achieved by a JA student company business.
Winner: Noll Deponi, Ung Företagsamhet Sverige (JA Sweden)
JA Europe Company of the Year for Upper Secondary Level, recognizes the mini-companies and young people who best demonstrated their business acumen and spirit of entrepreneurship, following their participation of the JA Company Program. The jury nominated 1st, 2nd and 3rd place in the JA Company of the Year 2022 Award. The members of the winning team of the JA Europe Company of the Year Main Award receives a full one-year scholarship to study at the Estonian Business School.
3rd Place: Carducation, JA Germany (above, left)
2nd Place: Drinkhalm, JA Austria (above, right)
1st Place/Winner: Microgreens, Σωματείο Επιχειρηματικότητας Νέων (JA Greece; below)
Start-up of the Year Awards
The awards dinner also saw the top four awards presented for the JA Start-up Program.
JA Europe Start-up of the Year: ZandZwiffer (JA Netherlands)
Innovation of the Year:
Third place: Drug and Drop (JA Greece)
Second place: Arkai (JA Belgium–Flanders)
First place Innovation of the Year, University Level: hearNprotect (Young Enterprise UK)
