JA Europe Celebrates Gen-E 2023 in Istanbul
July 14, 2023
JA Europe held the finale of its 2023 Gen-E entrepreneurship event last night in Istanbul, Türkiye. Celebrating entrepreneurial achievements of European JA students and entrepreneurship education throughout the region, Gen-E brings together three previously separate events: the JA Europe Company of the Year competition for high school students, the JA Europe Enterprise Challenge for university students, and the Entrepreneurial School (TES) awards for educators and schools.
Hosted by JA Türkiye, hundreds of Europe’s top young entrepreneurs showcased cutting-edge businesses.
Meet the Teams
High School / Upper-Secondary Level – JA Student Companies
Albania: FiStrat’s app simulates the financial world, allowing the user to experiment with the banking system and stocks, among others, without taking real-life risks.
Austria: Scherzl mit Herzl turns bread waste into snacks that can be used as salad toppings or snacks.
Belgium-Flemish: HistWear upcycles advertising banners, seat belts, and tires and turns them into stylish, functional bags.
Belgium-French: Artlight build and sells lamps made from used automotive parts.
Bulgaria: EM PAX created a solar-powered recycling bin that compresses waste and recyclable materials into compact, easy-to-transport sheets.
Cyprus: Freshies portable cleaning product kills bacteria, eliminates smells, and leaves behind the refreshing scent of lavender or lemon.
Czechia: Cap-It hair ties sells scrunchies that also serve as beverage covers, preventing drinks from being spiked.
Denmark: Arpeggio’s Accordo helps individuals suffering from arthritis learn to play music.
Estonia: Milspray’s camouflage spray is the next evolution in military camo protection, providing military protection in an atomizer bottle rather than a traditional stick or tube.
Finland: VAPU NY offers a wide range of activities for service homes and individual elder care through a mobile phone app.
France: Le P’tit Palet fights food waste by using breadcrumbs as a flour replacement in baked goods.
Georgia: Halove breaks down communications barriers for hearing- and speech-impaired individuals through a smartglove that translates American Sign Language.
Germany: Rebalanced’s ReFeel and ReFlow products restore the feeling of writing on paper to touch-screen devices.
Greece: Isometricks created Wizzle, a strategic game and puzzle made of 3D-printed material available in different levels of difficulty and size.
Hungary: Trubadúr offers a digital art gallery that connects young artists with art lovers through the metaverse.
Iceland: Nómina is a mobile app that helps employees read and identify errors in their paychecks using OCR technology.
Ireland: Daedalus Sports sells pocket socks, allowing wearers to store accessories conveniently during athletic activities.
Isle of Man: Mindcore created and distributes an innovative, assistive app to support neurodiverse individuals.
Italy: WashMeUp JA sells a dish-washing alternative to traditional dish soap that uses cedar oil.
Latvia: Soilnetic makes plant care hassle-free by helping plant owners remember to water their plants.
Lithuania: Brailliant created a Braille-based board game to unite all people regardless of their visual abilities.
Luxembourg: Brëssen Wëssen seeks to celebrate the Luxembourgish language in everyday culture through its card game about the language, traditions, and culture.
Malta: h2Lo reminds its customers to stay hydrated through its cleverly designed water bottle.
Moldova: AETHER creates and sells affordable energy-efficient products made of recycled materials.
Montenegro: $kill Time, a multipurpose app, helps unemployed people form their own businesses by offering access to essential courses.
Netherlands: An Open Book repurposes unused scrap wood to create its boekmaat, enhancing the reading experience.
North Macedonia: InoVax seeks to solve the problem of missing elderly and those suffering from dementia with its low-cost device.
Norway: KelpNest UB delivers cleaner fish shelters made of natural kelp for open salmon farms.
Poland: Praktymarket is the first public web portal in Poland to advertise apprenticeships for secondary students.
Portugal: WillChair’s battery stores energy from manual wheelchair use so the user can employ the battery as needed.
Romania: AgroStep uses artificial intelligence to optimize irrigation in agriculture.
Serbia: ZaČili’s Chili Guard organic biopesticide uses capsaicin, a chili pepper extract, to protect crops from pests.
Slovakia: FLUF manufactures ecologically friendly charcoal briquettes from horse manure and paper waste.
Slovenia: Shredder Team’s PLASTOŽER grinds plastic waste, reducing the energy and time required of traditional plastic recycling processes.
Spain: Eco Refill offers consumers direct product refills in reusable containers through its dispensing machines.
Sweden: SOBB UF developed a free mobile app for young people seeking summer jobs.
Switzerland: Beesoft sells a lip balm made of regional beeswax in cherry and apricot flavors.
Türkiye: MUN Company offers beneficial health products for consumers.
United Kingdom: Monito increases financial awareness in young people through product design, literature, social media, and podcasts.
Ukraine: Warm Up Ukraine’s team of welders creates and sells stoves to help Ukrainian people keep warm.
University Level – JA Start-ups
Albania: Real Albanian developed and launched a website to help people learn the Albanian language.
Belgium–Flemish: SomeThin makes and sells placemats and coasters made of ultra-thin natural stone.
Belgium–French: Backowl created a digital platform to aid companies servicing the transit sector, connecting Belgian drivers, carriers, and shippers.
Bulgaria: Pop!Ed enhances learning by merging the digital and the physical world through interactive 3D models, elevating traditional learning methods through an immersive experience.
Cyprus: E-mbracelet is a wearable device with an accompanying app that supports individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASM), helping to manage sensory overload and emotional regulation.
Czechia: List-n-Eat’s app allows users to organize grocery lists, plan meals, and get personalized recipes according to budget, location, and dietary needs.
Denmark: Evstinguish enhances safety in electric vehicles through its fire-extinguishing solutions based on maritime standards and technology.
Finland: Toteum gathers data for underground infrastructure surveying by collecting data directly from tools and machine control systems.
France: Spring Fest’ is a gastronomic event that brings together passionate culinary enthusiasts and professionals who want to promote environmental protection, ecology, and local know-how.
Greece: Carexchange enables people to donate products according to charities’ needs via an online platform.
Latvia: Fungo is an augmented reality game that encourages pediatric oncology patients to engage in physical activities during hospital stays.
Luxembourg: Bright Cleaning specializes in solar panel maintenance and optimization through its autonomous cleaning system.
Malta: Możaic offers an adaptive clothing line that empowers children through fashion.
Netherlands: Buddy Bag is a safe, sustainable, waterproof way to store a rider’s helmet when a scooter is parked.
Norway: Oslo Analytic reduces web emissions by mapping and reducing companies’ digital presence, making the internet faster, cleaner, and more efficient.
Portugal: Trade offers a platform that allows university students to exchange services.
Romania: Partial Eclipse provides therapeutic glasses to prevent seizures in people suffering from epilepsy or photophobia.
Spain: FindIt is an app designed to help users save money on groceries and fuel.
Türkiye: AIForSociety developed Let’s Describe, a mobile app that supports education for learning-disabled children.
United Kingdom: Tiaki offers a sports protection kit designed specifically for women’s bodies.
Gen-E 2023 Day by Day
Prior to the in-person event, jurors interviewed JA student companies during a virtual expo. University JA students met jurors on July 3 and high school JA students interviewed on July 4.
From July 5–7, signature award jurors met with student companies during the virtual expo to select winners of the signature awards.
Day 1: July 11
Twenty JA start-ups and forty JA student companies gathered in Istanbul on Day 1. They rehearsed their stage presentations, developed logistics skills during the FedEx Unlocking Success session, and unwound with a welcome dinner and neon party.
Day 2: July 12
The second day started with the official Gen-E 2023 opening ceremony, followed by stage presentations for both the JA student companies and JA start-ups. Students were later treated to the EY Entrepreneurship Lab, hosted by JA Alumni Europe, while educators from around the region participated in a focus session about the sustainability of entrepreneurship. The day wrapped up with a boat tour of the Bosphorus Strait for students, mentors, educators, board members, and staff.
Day 3: July 13
The final day opened with an expo featuring both JA start-ups and JA student companies. Judges interacted directly with students, learning more about their products and services and giving them to opportunity to ask further questions as needed. The day wrapped up with the Gen-E gala and presentation of the 2023 awards.
Awards
The Entrepreneurial School Award: In 2007, FedEx founded the first European signature award for JA Europe’s regional Company of the Year competition. FedEx supports not only the high school level, but also the university level, and in 2023, FedEx and JA Europe also recognized the schools and the teachers who lead, educate, and mentor JA students around the region. This year, the Entrepreneurial School Awards recognize 27 primary, secondary, and vocational schools that provide entrepreneurial education. Learn more and find the list of winners at gen-e.eu/the-entrepreneurial-school-tes-awards.
The FedEx Access Award honors the JA student company and JA start-up enterprise that best exhibit global accessibility. The winning student companies have opened up to new markets and are conscious of the environment and social issues. In a world more connected than ever, FedEx aims empower the next generation of Europe’s entrepreneurs to embrace global opportunities and to seek partners and customers beyond national borders.
University winner: Evstinguish, JA Denmark
High school winner: KelpNest UB, JA Norway
Public Choice Awards
High school, AT&T: GEN-E participants voted for their favorite JA student company out of all high-school level competitors.
Winner: BeSweet, JA Ukraine
University, Arconic Foundation: A public vote based on the most creative and impactful projects competing at GEN-E.
Winner: Cartoon Yooself, JA Czech
The Alumni Leadership Award, sponsored by Delta Air Lines, recognizes individuals who demonstrate outstanding leadership skills that impact their team throughout the JA company program.
All winners—four university student winners and eight high school student winners—are invited to join the JA Alumni Europe conference in September 2023.
High School Signature Awards
The BNY Mellon Future First Signature Award recognizes the importance of ESG and focuses on sustainable society and environmental change. The winning JA student company will have created unique business solutions to a pressing environmental, social, or governance (ESG) challenges throughout the JA Company Program.
Winner: Mindcore, JA Isle of Man
The Citi Foundation Client Focus Award goes to the JA student company that understands wants and needs and creates value for the customer. The Citi Foundation Client Focus Award recognizes the student company that excels at understanding and adapting to customer needs thus creating value for the customer.
Winner: AgroStep, JA Romania
The ManpowerGroup Ready for Work Award recognizes the JA student company that has best built work readiness skills during the competition. The winning team displays ability, likability, and drive, all of which are integral to learnability, and their project should nurture and inspire these qualities in others. Learnability is a key component of work readiness. It means the desire and ability to grow and adapt your skill sets to remain employable throughout your working life.
Winner: An Open Book, JA Netherlands
The Goodyear Brand Excellence Award recognizes a business that captures the value of its brand and shows ability to grow through a smart business plan.
Winner: Bëssen Wëssen, JA Luxembourg
University Signature Awards
Avanade Digital Innovation Award recognizes young entrepreneurs in the digital space. The Avanade Digital Innovation Signature Award will recognize the young entrepreneurs who were best able to put their digital skills into practice to conceive an innovative business idea or concept.
Winner: Oslo Analytics, JA Norway
Euroclear Financial Performance Award: The Euroclear Financial Performance Award recognizes the JA student start-up that demonstrates long-term financial performance and robustness and a strong financial model.
Winner: Pop!Ed, JA Bulgaria
EY GEN-E Young Women Leaders Award: EY Gen-E Young Women Leaders Award recognizes three women who demonstrated outstanding inclusive leadership attributes and entrepreneurial leadership skills throughout the JA Europe Start Up program. The winners will also pr
Winners:
Elise de Klerk, Buddy Bag, JA Netherlands
Keira Augstkalne, Fungo, JA Latvia
Maro Manoli, Em-bracelet, JA Cyprus
Main Awards
The JA Europe Innovation of the Year Award recognizes the top JA student start-ups (university level) that developed the most innovative solutions with real future investment potential. (Winner will receive a trip to ImpactFest 2023 in the Netherlands).
First place winner: Tiaki, Young Enterprise UK
Second place: Evstinguish, JA Denmark
Third place: Fungo, JA Latvia
The JA Europe Start-up of the Year award recognizes the JA student start-up that best exhibits a viable and sustainable business with an emphasis on the value—be it financial, social, or cultural—already in existence in the market with the potential to scale further.
First place: Toteuma, JA Finland
Second place: Oslo Analytic, JA Norway
Third place: Pop!Ed, JA Bulgaria
The JA Europe Innovation of the Year Award recognizes the JA Student Company that best exhibits ground-breaking innovation through its business.
First place: Mindcore, JA Isle of Man
Second place: Brailliant, JA Lithuania
Third place: Halove, JA Georgia
The JA Europe Company of the Year award recognizes the JA student companies (high school level) that best demonstrate business acumen and spirit of entrepreneurship.
First place: Isometricks, JA Greece
Second Place: SOBB UB, YE Sweden
Third place: FLUF, JA Slovakia
As JA Europe Company of the Year, Isometricks will join Junior Achievement USA champion Youthful Thinkers, JA Asia Pacific Company of the Year SIEVASCO, and the top student companies from INJAZ Al-Arab JA MENA, JA Africa, and JA Americas to compete for the 2024 De La Vega Global Entrepreneurship Award competition.