AWARDS

The most outstanding and innovative companies will not only win cash prizes, but they will gain visibility, contacts and the international training they need to continue to evolve. Will your start-up be one of them?

EmprendeXXI Awards

Find out more about the categories in which your start-up has a chance to win simply by submitting your entry! To grant the awards, the judges will assess the value contribution and the disruptive capacity of the proposed innovation, with innovation being understood in a broad sense (technology, business model, processes, sales channel, etc.).

Regional Award

The Regional Award is intended for innovative technological enterprises in any sector of activity, broken down by territory. Any company in a territory may opt for this award, regardless of its sector. Upon entry, participants will automatically be placed in this category, according to their business address.

The 17 companies winning the regional competition in Spain (one winning company in each autonomous community) and the 2 winning companies in Portugal (one winning company in each region) will be recognised as companies with high growth potential in their territory.

Special Awards

Two special prizes of €9,000 each will be presented: Social Impact Award, for the company with the greatest positive impact on society, and the Disruptive Innovation Award, for the most groundbreaking technological innovation. All applicants are automatically considered for these awards, regardless of their sector or region.

There will also be a special AlumniXXI Award, recognising a company from the AlumniXXI Community with an outstanding track record in scaling their business.

Tomorrow's Challenges Award

For 19 years, we’ve been championing the best entrepreneurs. And this year we are celebrating with awards for those bold enough to look further and change the world. Because we know that to improve tomorrow, we have to start today. All companies entering one of the challenges, regardless of region, are eligible for this award.

The challenges of the 19th edition are divided into three categories comprising a total of eight specific challenges:

Solutions that drive innovation with a transformative impact on businesses, professionals and the market.

Challenge 1: Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, Forestry and Related Industries (potential sectors: IoT sensors and crop optimisation, food traceability, animal welfare, forest risk management).
Challenge 2: Industry 4.0, Manufacturing, Construction and Transport (potential sectors: robotics, digital twins, new materials, proptech, automation).
Challenge 3: Business Productivity, E-Commerce and Fintech (potential sectors: fintech, e-commerce, Regtech, Legaltech, SaaS, cybersecurity, platforms and other tools that support digital transformation).

Solutions that enhance people’s physical and emotional wellbeing, with a real impact on their quality of life.

Challenge 4: Health and Healthtech (potential sectors: digital health and telemedicine, insurance, diagnostics and monitoring, personalised medicine, mental wellbeing and stress management, fitness and physical activity, prevention, active ageing).
Challenge 5: Wellbeing of the Generation + (potential sectors: silver economy, active ageing).
Challenge 6: Education, Culture and Leisure (potential sectors: digital education and e-learning, personalised learning, digital entertainment and cultural experiences, socialisation and connection).
Challenge 7: Tourism and Travel (potential sectors: responsible tourism and mobility, Traveltech).

Innovative solutions that contribute to the ecological transition and sustainability.

Challenge 8: Environment and Decarbonisation (potential sectors: renewable energies, energy efficiency, waste management, carbon footprint, climate monitoring, water management).

Cash prize

€6,000

For each regional winner

€15,000

For the winner of each challenge

€9,000

For the winner of each Special Award

We know that money isn’t everything

That’s why, as well as the cash prize, you will have access to different programmes that will help you to grow in every way:

SUPPORT AND
TRAINING PROGRAMME

Access to a mentoring program at a global innovation hub. To implement this program, we collaborate with top-tier institutions such as ESADE and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Boston.

SUPPORT
FOR INNOVATION

The awards are backed by leading international organisations in the area of innovation.

EMPRENDEXXI INVESTORS DAY

The winning companies will be invited to this conference where they will meet the main corporates and investors in the sphere of innovation.

ALUMNIXX COMMUNITY

This initiative combines a virtual community with face-to-face meetings and will help to strengthen relationships and create synergies between the award winners and the areas of entrepreneurship and innovation.

COLLABORATION WITH CAIXABANK

Through the Start-Up AwardsXXI, candidate companies, past Alumni winners, and DayOne clients will have the opportunity to present their solutions to collaborate with the CaixaBank Group on some of the bank’s business and innovation challenges. The details of the initiative will be published on the website www.emprendedorxxi.es/en and, where applicable, on the social media channels of the EmprendeXXI Awards.

Additionally, just by submitting your application for the Start-Up AwardsXXI, you will gain access to online training sessions on some of the most relevant topics for start-ups.