Application Deadline: SEPTEMBER 30, 2021

The Citizen Entrepreneurship Competition (CEC) is a part of the Entrepreneurship Campus and was initiated to empower entrepreneurs all around the world to create innovative answers to global and/or community challenges and to engage in a more peaceful and sustainable world. 

You are invited to submit your innovative ideas and projects with a societal impact, which champion and implement one or more of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs and 169 related targets address the most important social, economic, environmental, health and governmental challenges of our time.

Before, during and after the CEC you have the possibility to take two courses to help develop a sustainable business model from your idea. You will gain knowledge that can be helpful to change or upgrade existing projects as well. The Brain versus Capital (BvC) course serves as a basis and can also be completed without prior registration. The additional Sustainable Entrepreneurship Course (SEC) is recommended to be done after the end of the BvC course. Both courses are free of charge.

Note: Taking the BvC and/or SEC course is not mandatory to take part in the Citizen Entrepreneurship Competition. However, it is a helpful tool to get the greatest possible potential out of your ideas and projects.

Requirements

• If you are between 13 and 29 years old, please submit your idea and/or project in the Youth Citizen Entrepreneurship category.
• If you are 30+ you can submit your idea and/or project to the Adult Citizen Entrepreneurship category.
• Please make sure that you submit your entry into the right category. If not, your entry cannot be included in the competition.
• You will have to delete the entry and submit it again

Prizes and recognition

Entries will be posted on the competition website and are subject to online commenting and public voting. Ten finalists in Youth (idea & project) and Adult (idea & project) categories will be determined according to votes and the Personal Activity Indicator algorithm.
Finalists are requested to submit a video of their idea/project if they have not done so yet. The video can be a maximum of 3 minutes long, longer videos cannot be considered!

From among the finalists, the judges will make the final selection of three winners (Grand Prize, 2nd Prize, and 3rd Prize) in each category. Entries will be evaluated based on their entrepreneurial vision, feasibility, innovation, leadership, social impact, and sustainability, among other factors. The People’s Choice is awarded to the participant with the most votes, across both categories. They are automatically among the finalists.

Grand Prize winners will receive a virtual Gold Badge and a Certificate.

Second Prize winners will receive a virtual Silver Badge and a Certificate.

Third Prize winners will receive a virtual Bronze Badge and a Certificate.

People’s Choice Prize winners will receive a virtual Gold Badge and a Certificate.

Finalists not chosen as prize winners will receive an Honorable Mention Badge.

Grand Prize, Second Prize, Third Prize, and People’s Choice will be made public at a virtual Announcement Ceremony on 10 December 2021. All information about the process will follow.

In addition to the certificate, the winners of the Citizen Entrepreneurship Competition 2021 also have the chance to receive input and feedback from our experts in a 60 to 90 minute webinar. This gives you the opportunity to clarify open questions, network, and promote your idea/project and maybe find supporters outside of the CEC community.

How to Enter

Step 1
Register online and create your account! You will receive a confirmation email. In order to activate your account, you must confirm by clicking on the link in the email. If you cannot find the email, please check your spam folder.

Step 2
In order to participate in the competition, you must submit an idea and/or project in the Youth (13-29 years) or the Adult (from 30 years up) category. Fill out and submit the preliminary entry form.

Then wait for a response from the competition administrators: Entries are reviewed by the competition administrators of Stiftung Entrepreneurship and Digital Experts United. Only those entries that meet a certain standard and pass the preliminary screening will be invited to provide more details about their idea/project in a second entry form. 

The status of an entry can be checked in your profile menu under “My Ideas/Projects”. All saved and submitted entries are saved there and can be accessed again at any time.

Please note: Rejected entries may be refined by the entrants and can be re-submitted up until the entries deadline.

Step 3
Entries (ideas and projects) that have passed the preliminary screening will be posted on the competition website and will participate in the competition. 

Please note: Until 1 June 2020 every published entry will only be visible for the Entrepreneurship Campus community. At the start of the voting and commenting phase on June 1st, all entries will be published for the entire world outside the competition to see. All dates and deadlines can be found in the timeline.

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the Youth Citizen Entrepreneurship Competition 2021