The second edition of the Youth Start-Up Competition (YSC), part of the European SME Week, culminated with the celebration of the finale on 20 November at the SME Assembly 2024 in Budapest.

With a record number of submissions from young innovators from all over Europe, and after a fierce contest, Frederico Mauritty from Portugal emerged as the competition’s winner! 

Frederico Mauritty’s project, HidroQapa, developed with co-creator Madalena de Castro Filipe, capitalises on shrimp shells—waste from the seafood industry—to extract chitosan, which is then used to create biodegradable bioplastic. This innovative product serves as a waterproofing agent in the textile industry, offering an eco-friendly alternative to aerosol-based waterproofing practices while reducing waste in the fishing sector.

The YSC competition aims to foster young entrepreneurial talent, focusing on projects that address critical challenges in sustainability, social inclusion, and technology, while embodying EU values. This year’s finalists were shortlisted by a distinguished jury based on criteria including originality, feasibility, geographical impact, and presentation quality. The final decision on the competition’s winner, however, lay with the audience at the SME Assembly in Budapest who held the deciding vote after listening to the three pitches. 

The ceremony concluded with an emotional moment as the winners expressed their gratitude and reflected on the importance of supporting young entrepreneurs.

“Thanks to the jury members for believing in my project. I’m trying to make the world a more sustainable place,” said Frederico.

The two runners up in the competition were: 

• Anna Bíborka Nagypál (Hungary), with her project Cheera, which tackles the problem of antibiotic resistance in the poultry industry by supporting farmers to use sprouts, with natural antibiotic properties as food supplement for chickens.  
• Jacques Mery de Montigny (France), with his project Green Fusyon, which utilises heat and CO2 emissions from the biogas industry as a sustainable production method for chlorella, a highly nutritious microalgae.  

Congratulations to Frederico, and thanks to the finalists for bringing their groundbreaking ideas to the SME Assembly!