Home
Conference Fully funded

Youth Start-Up Challenge 2026

Applications open

Youth Start-Up Challenge 2026

Programme details

The Youth Start-Up Challenge 2026 is a European Commission competition for young people with an original start-up or business idea. Part of European SME Week, it looks for ideas that respond to real challenges and connect with priorities such as sustainability, digitalisation, social inclusion, innovation and economic resilience. Applicants enter by presenting their idea through a short video and a concise business plan.

A jury will select three finalists to pitch live at the SME & Clusters Assembly 2026 in Dublin from 2–4 November. The final gives young entrepreneurs a European platform to present their ideas to policymakers, investors, entrepreneurs and enterprise-support organisations. The winner also receives an invitation to the European Innovation Council Summit 2027.

Eligibility requirements

  • Be resident in one of the eligible countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Kosovo, Liechtenstein, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Türkiye or Ukraine. Eligibility is based on residence, not citizenship/nationality.
  • Submit only one entry. Applications must be made under a single applicant's name, even when several people have worked on the idea.
  • If the start-up is already a registered legal entity, it must be registered in the EU or in a country associated with the SME pillar of the Single Market Programme.

Benefits

  • Three finalists are invited to pitch their start-up idea live at the SME & Clusters Assembly 2026 in Dublin.
  • Visibility in front of European policymakers, investors, entrepreneurs and enterprise promoters.
  • Networking and access to workshops, panels and sessions during the SME & Clusters Assembly.

Important dates

  1. Application deadline
  2. SME & Clusters Assembly begins
  3. SME & Clusters Assembly ends

Required documents

  1. Start-up pitch video

    Maximum 2 minutes, submitted in English and filmed vertically in portrait orientation. The official structure asks for a short introduction, the problem being addressed, the proposed solution, and a closing statement explaining the start-up's aim and what support would help it scale.

  2. Short business plan

    Maximum 3 pages, submitted in English, outlining the start-up concept and approach.

Apply for this opportunity

Opportunities you may also like

Deadline 20 September 2026
Apply