- The European Business Promotion Awards (EPPA) aim to recognize entrepreneurship policies, both at local, regional and national level, as well as the work of small and medium-sized businesses throughout Europe.
Convened by the European Commission, in its 18th edition, the European Business Promotion Awards (EPPA) return once again this year. Their purpose is to recognize entrepreneurship policies at both local, regional and national levels, as well as the work of small and medium-sized businesses throughout Europe.
The awards ceremony will take place in Budapest in the second half of 2024, under the Hungarian presidency of the Council of the European Union, during the month of November. This event will be part of the European SME Week (SME WEEK).
Participation and award categories
The deadline for submitting candidatures is now open. National, regional or local administrations, as well as public-private associations, business organizations and SMEs, can apply for these awards in a specific category.
In all cases, the essential requirement will be to show recently created initiatives or projects that have had a positive evolution over a period of at least 15 months.
Since last year 2023, a category called “Responsible and inclusive business initiative” has been included, aimed specifically at SMEs. This category is designed to recognize and support SMEs that develop projects aimed at promoting inclusive entrepreneurship or corporate social responsibility and must be outside their normal business activity.
Entities and SMEs that want to participate in the awards must fill out the participation form and send it by email to pymes.europa@mincotur.es to the General Directorate of Industrial and SME Strategy of the Ministry of Industry and Tourism before June 17, 2024.
In total, six prize categories will be awarded:
- Promotion of entrepreneurship.
- Investment in business training.
- Support for the digital transition.
- Improvement of the business environment and support for the internationalization of companies.
- Support for sustainable transition.
- Responsible and inclusive business initiative (the only one to which SMEs can apply).
Selection process and award ceremony
The selection of the projects will be carried out in two phases: national and European.
- national phase
In the first phase, each member state of the European Union will nominate up to two candidates from the different existing categories to compete at the European level. In Spain, the selection will be managed by the General Directorate of Industrial and SME Strategy of the Ministry of Industry and Tourism
- European phase
During the second phase, an international jury will choose the absolute winners from among those selected by the member states in the national phase, one for each of the categories, in addition to the winner of the grand jury prize.
The winners will be announced in November 2024, during the EEPA awards ceremony, which will be held during the European SME Assembly in Budapest.
In last year's EEPA awards call, two national projects stood out among the candidates presented at the national level and were presented by Spain to the European phase:
- Impulso Emprende, an initiative led by the Soria Chamber of Commerce that was a finalist.
- The Break, an initiative of the School of Industrial Organization (EOI) that won the absolute prize at European level in its category.
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