INNOVA Europe, the competition co-founded by EDHEC is back for a second year

This article was first published on edhec.edu - 19/04/2024 

Buoyed by a successful first edition, the INNOVA Europe competition, co-founded by EDHEC, alongside ESMT Berlin and Polimi Graduate School of Management and with the support of BNP Paribas Banque Privée, BivwAk! and Ring Capital, is back for a second year. INNOVA Europe is a responsible entrepreneurship competition disputed by 11 European higher education institutions. The goal is to support the emergence of high-impact entrepreneurial projects and to foster European educational co-operation. In addition to organising the launch of this new edition, EDHEC will also host the competition final on 26 September 2024, at Station F. 

Created in 2023 by EDHEC Business School, ESMT Berlin and Polimi Graduate School of Management, this extensive initiative seeks to support innovative entrepreneurial projects focused on corporate social responsibility (CSR) issues. The candidate projects must notably be capable of responding to the United Nations’ sustainable development goals (SDGs), such as by accelerating the environmental transition, furthering societal progress or fostering the well-being of individuals.  

Initially reserved for alumni and students of the three founding institutions, Innova Europe is now open to participants from eight other European higher education institutions: Imperial College London, University College Dublin, Akademia Leona Koźmińskiego (Kozminski University), Kyiv School of Economics, Erasmus Business School, ETH Zurich, IE University and Aalto University.  Candidates have until 18 May to submit their proposals, either in the “Idea Stage” category which rewards innovative ideas, or in the “Minimum Viable Product (MVP) Stage” category which concerns products or services devised by start-ups and already on the market.

Following this submission phase, in early June each institution selects the two projects that will represent it at the competition final in Paris. Selected projects then enjoy customised support from June to September, comprising coaching sessions and pitch training. The two winning teams at the final on 26 September both receive prizes: €5,000 for the Idea Stage category winner and €20,000, plus the chance to develop their project on one of the participating institutions’ incubators for the MVP Stage winner. Last year’s MVP Stage winner was an EDHEC start-up, Dooda, specialising in insect-based food products and fertilisers.
 

To register for the competition (until 18 May) 

Find out more about the INNOVA Europe competition