[1]Outset presented with the 2012 EEPA Grand Jury Prize in Cyprus
The European Enterprise Promotion Awards have run since 2006. There have been 42 winning entries including one Grand Jury Prize winner in each competition. The most recent recipient of the Grand Jury Prize being Think Small First – Introduction to Micro Companies in Latvia [2].
Winners from previous years are listed below. We hope they inspire you to enter your national competition [3] in 2015!
2012
Outset, YTKO Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom
[4]
Outset is designed to show the unemployed that self- employment and enterprise is a realistic alternative to unemployment. Since the start of the programme, Outset has engaged with over 10,000 people. Of those, 1,916 have started a business, together creating 2,188 jobs.
www.outset.org [5]
2011
Barcelona Activa SAU SPM, Barcelona City Council, Spain
With its mission to transform entrepreneurship and business growth in Barcelona, the centre acts as a reference point and hub for entrepreneurs and uses an innovative model of online and on-site services to train individuals, thereby fostering the establishment of more than 6,000 new companies.
2010
Entrepreneurs’ Residencies, Auvergne Agence Regionale de Developpement des Territoires d’Auvergne (ARDTA), France
Entrepreneurs’ Residencies provides short and long-term support measures for business creators or buyers from outside the area willing to settle in the region. They are designed to support, facilitate and accelerate the setting up of new businesses by guiding potential entrepreneurs and refunding their living expenses.
2008/09
The Scarborough Renaissance Partnership, North Yorkshire, United Kingdom
The development project transformed the north-east England seaside town of Scarborough by pioneering renaissance and boosting entrepreneurship, thus turning a seasonal economy with winter unemployment 50% higher than summer into a year-round economy with only a 10% difference between summer and winter employment.
2007
Development of premises for business use, Lan Ekintza-Bilbao, Bilbao, Spain
Innovative urban redevelopment initiative that aims to prevent city decay by attracting startups and established businesses to relocate to the old heart of the city by providing financial support as well as combating marginalisation and social exclusion.
www.bilbao.net/bilbaoekintza [9]
2006
Y4 Committee, Finland
A complete methodology that introduces the business perspective in regional decision-making, encourages innovation and entrepreneurship espousing ethically sustainable values. The project triggered a cultural change in Central Finland, raising the proportion of entrepreneurs in a region that previously had a well- established culture of paid employment.