The heart of European youth entrepreneurship beat in Athens this July as Junior Achievement Greece successfully hosted the Gen-E 2025 Festival, Europe’s largest celebration and competition for young entrepreneurs.
From July 1 to 3, more than 1,000 participants from more than 50 countries gathered in the Greek capital for three days of innovation, inspiration, and international collaboration.
Body: Under the auspices of the European Commission, Gen-E 2025 brought together students, educators, business leaders, and policymakers to witness the continent’s brightest young minds present their pioneering business ideas and compete for the prestigious titles of “Company of the Year 2025” and “Start Up of the Year 2025.”
Celebrate with us Europe’s best youth businesses of 2025:
Upper secondary level winners:
JA Europe Company of the Year 2025 (business track): VerifyID from Denmark
VerifyID, a Danish tech startup, specializes in age and identity verification solutions. They create smart ID scanning technologies for online and physical businesses, aiding compliance with legal standards and preventing misuse. Their product lineup features NFC- and MRZ-based ID scanners, real-time ban detection for nightclubs, and smooth age verification for webshops. All solutions are crafted for speed, security, and ease of use.
JA Europe Innovation of the Year 2025 (innovation track): Trawl Tech from Norway
Trawl Tech is developing a sustainable alternative to bottom trawling, a fishing method that harms marine ecosystems, releases microplastics, and emits CO₂ on par with global air travel. Instead of dragging heavy gear along the seafloor, their solution uses a pelagic trawl that stays off the seabed. Fish are lured upward using feed, avoiding environmental damage and significantly cutting emissions.
University level winners:
JA Europe Innovation of the Year 2025 (innovation track): Lactozen from Belgium FR
Cornella is an ice cream cone made from brewers’ draff, coated in a sweet syrup enriched with lactase to aid lactose digestion, allowing people with lactose intolerance to enjoy ice cream.
JA Europe Start Up of the Year 2025 (business track): Pigi from Albania
Pigi is a financial literacy app tailored to kids and their families. It helps children learn the basics of financial responsibility, including task management, saving goals, and budgeting, through interactive features and an engaging mascot, Pigi, who guides them along the way.
This year’s festival showcased the creativity and drive of young entrepreneurs who emerged from a remarkable pool of more than 400,000 students and university participants engaged in JA Company Programme and JA Start Up during the 2024-25 academic year. Hundreds of innovative student “startups” were featured in the Gen-E 2025 Virtual Expo, with the most outstanding teams earning their place to compete on the Pan-European stage in Athens.
“Gen-E 2025 in Athens was a powerful reminder of the incredible entrepreneurial talent that exists across Europe. This festival not only celebrates young innovators but also strengthens the bonds within our European entrepreneurship ecosystem. It is inspiring to see so many students turning their ideas into impactful ventures that can shape the future of our continent.” Said Laurence Morvan, Chair of JA Europe
“Europe needs more Europe, and investing in its youth is the key to a brighter future. Gen-E 2025 has shown the world that this continent is not old but is tracing its way forward by empowering the next generation of entrepreneurs. Policy makers and private sector leaders have witnessed the transformative power of the JA network in Europe” Highlighted Salvatore Nigro, CEO of JA Europe
Additionally to the 4 Main Awards, the national winners from each country competed in Athens for a number of European and national signature awards:
Winners of European Signature Awards (Upper-Secondary Level):
The Alumni Leadership Award supported by Johnson & Jonhson: Guy McGuinness, Noah Berlanger, Anja Pajić, Damjan Gačević, Carlota Pereira, Mathéo Page
Fedex Access Award: BioAnglers from Finland
Delta Air Lines Sustainable Innovation Award: Trawl Tech from Norway
ManpowerGroup Ready for Work Award: Aima from Slovakia
PMIEF Best Application of Project Management Award: ElevateX from Bulgaria
The UniCredit Foundation “Re-Power Your Future” Award: T-Buddy from Serbia
Winners of European Signature Awards (University Level):
FedEx Access Award: Medimynd from Malta
BNY Resilient Futures Award: Link3rs from Spain
The Euroclear Financial Excellence Award: EcoWrap from Netherlands
EY AI Innovators Award: Cooltivate from Czech Republic
Winners of National Signature Awards:
Titan Future Horizons Award – Upper-Secondary Level: Peellastic from Cyprus
Innovation in Sustainability Award by Cenergy Holdings – Elvalhalcor (Viohalco Companies) – University Level: EcoWrap from Netherlands
Winner of Public Choice Award:
Public Choice Award – Upper-Secondary Level supported by PPC: Kevin AI from Georgia
Public Choice Award – University Level supported by Crédit Agricole Auto Bank: Les Culottes – Belgium FR
Get in the Ring by Unknown Group:
PulsePal from Albania (EU Code Week Digital Innovation Award Winners)
“In Athens, Greece hosts Gen-E 2025, Europe’s largest youth entrepreneurship festival, a testament to our educational community embracing JA Greece’s programs. Through experiential education, we foster trust, cooperation, and creativity among students, shaping a confident, values-driven new generation and a brighter future for our country. JA Greece is proud to organize this European project, offering young people across Europe a unique opportunity and inspiring hope for all.” Mentioned Emilios Kyriacou, Chair of JA Greece.
”Junior Achievement Greece’s impressive growth over the past decade has led us to host Europe’s largest youth entrepreneurship celebration in Athens. Gen-E 2025 signals Greece’s transformation and the leadership of our new generation. This event underscores that consistent investment in youth education and entrepreneurship positions Greece as a European reference point. Thanks to our partners, educators, volunteers, and students, Greek youth are empowered to achieve remarkable success.” Highlighted Argiris Tzikopoulos, CEO JA Greece.
In addition to the thrilling European final competition for JA national winners, Gen-E 2025 in Athens provided an important forum for workshops and Masterclasses aimed at enriching the European entrepreneurship ecosystem. A highlight was the capacity-building workshop for teachers and educators, which explored how to empower educators in the digital age and the Policy Roundtable: AI in Entrepreneurship Education. Meanwhile, the FedEx Masterclass offered competing student teams a Masterclass on “Harmonized Disruptors: Why Age Doesn’t Define Innovation”.
We congratulate all winners of this year’s Gen-E European Entrepreneurship Festival and invite everyone to discover them on the Gen-E website, social media and Virtual Expo!
