The national selection of this year’s European Enterprise Promotion Awards was won by Kaunas IN project Future for Electronics together with Panevėžys Development Agency’s project Classes Trying on Panevėžys. Both initiatives will compete in the final round of the 2023 European Enterprise Promotion Awards in Bilbao, Spain, on November 13–15.

“The 18th international awards continue to provide an opportunity to recognize and reward outstanding initiatives that promote entrepreneurship. We can easily say that it is not just a competition, it also aims to broaden the concept of entrepreneurship, promote the policy of creating favorable business conditions and its implementation, and highlight business success stories. The winners of these awards are chosen every year and become a source of inspiration for both advanced entrepreneurs and the younger generation,” Minister of Economy and Innovation Aušrinė Armonaitė says.

In the national selection of the 2023 European Enterprise Promotion Awards, projects were judged in 6 categories: fostering the entrepreneurial spirit, investing in entrepreneurial skills, supporting digital transformation, improving the business environment, and promoting the international expansion of business, financing sustainable transformation, and awarding the responsible and inclusive entrepreneurship.

“We are delighted that the national selection of the European Enterprise Promotion Awards was won by the projects that promote entrepreneurship among young people and give them the opportunity to choose a future profession that is in demand and in line with market needs. It is also commendable that half of the projects that applied were related to pupils and their entrepreneurship. The Ministry of Economy and Innovation also pays a lot of attention to promoting practical entrepreneurship among schoolchildren, and we are pleased to see that some municipalities are also choosing this direction, which is producing some really great projects and initiatives that contribute to promoting entrepreneurship among young people,” Vice-Minister of Economy and Innovation Ieva Valeškaitė said.

The presentation of the “Future belongs to Electronics” project at Kaunas “Saulė” gymnasium

Kaunas IN project Future for Electronics won in the Improvement of Business Environment and Promotion of International Business Development category. The project aims to promote the attractiveness of the electronics study programs in Kaunas to school students and thus increase the number of them enrolling in these university programs after they graduate from high school.

It is worth mentioning that in the first 2 years of the initiative, the number of students enrolled in electronics study programs in Kaunas increased by 33%. In the long term, this project will contribute to the growth of the number of workers in the electronics sector, improving the investment environment in the city, creating favorable conditions for the development of electronics companies, and Lithuania’s economic competitiveness in one of the world’s fastest-growing sectors.

The presentation of the “Future belongs to Electronics” project at Kaunas “Saulė” gymnasium

The winners of the national selection were chosen by a jury composed of representatives of the Ministry of Economy and Innovation, the Innovation Agency, the ISM University of Management and Economics, the Association of Lithuanian Municipalities, and the private sector.

The national selection for the European Enterprise Promotion Awards was open to central, regional, and local government bodies and other legal entities involved in public-private sector partnership initiatives.

Also, for the first time this year, private entities meeting the criteria for SMEs were eligible to compete in the Responsible and Inclusive Entrepreneurship category, provided that the project for which they were applying was not their main activity.

European Enterprise Promotion Awards are organized by the European Commission and the national selection is carried out by the Ministry of Economy and Innovation.