The 2024 European Enterprise Promotion Awards (EEPA) entry period has now finished, and we are pleased to announce that it has been another successful year with 54 entries being put forward to the European stage of the competition.

At a national level, there were a record number of entries: 442 in total from 29 countries. With only two entries per country, the national juries had a difficult task to select the entries to put forward. Ultimately, excellent projects narrowly miss out on progressing to the European stage. For this reason, 2024 saw the introduction of ‘National Honorary Mention’ certificates. These certificates are awarded to projects which the national jury wish to credit as being deserving of recognition. 

Here are the projects that have been given this accolade:

France: Maison des entrepreneurs 

The first category, "Promoting the Entrepreneurial Spirit", commends initiatives which promote an entrepreneurial mindset, particularly amongst young people and women. The programme being honoured by the French national jury as National Honorary Mention is "Maison des entrepreneurs" (Entrepreneurs' house), established by the Haute-de-France region. The initiative provides support to businesses at any stage of their journey by aiding project creation, analysing feasibility, and guiding businesses through their difficult early stages. 

Malta: Supporting Anticipation and Management of Change

The category "Investing in Entrepreneurial Skills" recognises initiatives which improve entrepreneurial, managerial and employee skills. From Malta, the "Supporting Anticipation and Management of Change" Business Manual initiative by the Malta Employers' Associations (MEA) is acknowledged. The project aims to create a shared sense of purpose amongst Maltese employers to foster an optimum pro-business environment improve relations between employers and employees and between the government and employers to boost morale and support individual skill development. The MEA strives towards labour protection and improving labour quality whilst boosting productivity gains and economic development. 

Poland: Uczeń i Uczennica Przyszłości 

The Municipality of Lublin's "Uczeń i Uczennica Przyszłości" (Student of the Future) project is also being recognised in the "Investing in Entrepreneurial Skills" category. The initiative involves a series of several-month-long educational activities for primary school children. Partaking in activities such as 3D printing workshops, neon sign making, and visits to the Lublin University of Technology, the project aims at developing entrepreneurial competences including creativity, analytical thinking, self-presentation, teamwork and utilising modern technology. The project believes that hands-on, experience-based educational activities can embed crucial entrepreneurial skills into young children's education, contributing to a creative and sustainable future business ecosystem. 

Portugal: 360° Tourism Business Programme

The model of the 360º Tourism Business Program was launched by Turismo de Portugal and promoted in partnership with 22 entities. The project aims to support companies in understanding the importance and scope of sustainability and ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) management whilst challenging them to a transformative journey based on measuring and reporting their performance, through innovative tools that simplify, speed up and improve the reporting process from an end-to-end perspective: starting with understanding ESG sustainability metrics, moving on to aggregating and monitoring the data associated with those metrics, and ending with the automatic production of a sustainability report.

Greece: GIS Interactive Digital Map for Manufacturing Businesses

The "Supporting the Digital Transition" category recognises enterprises which enable them to develop, market, and utilise digital technologies and services of any kind. From Greece, the "GIS Interactive Digital Map for Manufacturing Businesses" project created by the Region of Eastern Macedonia & Thrace, Regional Unit for Xanthi has been granted a National Honorary Mention certificate for its role in the embracing Geographical Information Systems (GIS). Mapping active manufacturing enterprises using GIS in and around the region of Xanthi has contributed to a hands-on interactive digital platform which can support activities such as positioning of new enterprises, tracking the exploitation of existing resources, and enabling environmental protection.

Greece: Eco Fashion EU 

The Greek national jury granted a second initiative a National Honorary Mention Certificate, this time nominated in the  "Supporting the Sustainable Transition" category. The jury noted that the project supports the sustainable environmental transition towards a circular economy, climate neutrality, clean energy, and resource efficiency. Eco Fashion EU of the Athens Chamber of SMEs Industries strives to support SMEs in the fashion sector in order to adopt sustainable principles such as the Circular Economy into their business models. This is primarily achieved through sharing best practices, education and training, workshops, and events to raise awareness amongst the general public. 

Well done to these projects — keep up the good work and hopefully we will see you on the European stage next year!

The 54 projects that made it to the European stage of the competition will be featured in upcoming articles in Futurium. The ultimate winners will be announced at the SME Assembly in Budapest, Hungary (18-20 November 2024).