Applications are open for the third edition of the national competition "Best Youth Start-up in Bulgaria". The competition is organized by the Fund of Funds and the Faculty of Economics of Sofia University. It is under the patronage of the Minister of Innovation and Growth and the Rector of the Sofia University. Applications of young people from all over the country are accepted through the competition website https://www.startup-competition.fmfib.bg/ by 15 March.
"Best Youth Startup in Bulgaria 2024" will once again give individual participants or teams the opportunity to develop their innovative ideas, showcase their entrepreneurial skills and gain valuable experience in the startup ecosystem during a 10-week mentoring program before the final presentation of their ideas. Students and youth from across the country up to the age of 29, as well as 11th and 12th grade students with innovative business ideas, can participate. Projects from all fields and at different stages of implementation - conceptual phase, early stage or advanced stage - are eligible.
The competition will end on 31 May with a presentation of the ten best concepts to the competition partners in the Aula of Sofia University. The participants admitted to the competition will go through dozens of webinars, workshops, mentoring sessions, trainings, gaming meetings and competitions, organized according to individual needs - stage of the project, age, sector in which the idea falls. It is also a valuable opportunity to create business contacts among entrepreneurial, academic and scientific circles and to attract like-minded people to implement ideas.
The initiative is held for the third consecutive year and attracts projects of young people from all over the country. The competition is a springboard for successful implementation of plans for own business in all sectors of the economy and aims to raise the entrepreneurial culture of young people in Bulgaria, including idea generation and development, business planning, marketing, presentation to investors, etc. In its first edition in 2022, the competition attracted 36 projects, while last year there were over 50 participants. The authors were students or graduates of 17 Bulgarian and 7 foreign universities. The competition was also open to upper year students from 7 Bulgarian high schools. The competition has supported the acceleration of ideas from various fields - fintech, e-commerce, recycling, virtual reality, applications of artificial intelligence, electromobility, education, agrotechnology and urban agriculture, career development, civil society, architecture, creative activities, etc. The strongest projects received direct investment or were able to attract funding at a later stage.
Among the successful companies discovered through "Best Youth Startup in Bulgaria" and given a boost in their development are Vodoraslo, Vavakada 3D, Foodobox, Agron, Young Inventor, Anti-tremor glove, PosseyPay and others. Among them, there are those who are already presenting Bulgaria's innovative potential at international exhibitions such as Web Summit and Slush, including participation in COP-28.
This year the organizers of the Fund of Funds and St. More than 30 funding institutions, funds, sector associations, organizations from the scientific and academic circles, etc. are partners of the initiative.
More information and an application link are available on the competition website at: www.startup-competition.fmfib.bg
Information about the participants and winners of the first edition is published here: https://www.fmfib.bg/bg/news/199-priklyuchi-natsionalniyat-konkurs-za-naydobar-mladezhki-startap-2022
Information about the participants and winners of the second edition is published here:
