High North Young Entrepreneur Award: Competition Launch: 'Win 50 000 NOK For Your Start-Up'
From left: Ernst Holm (AAVEQ Robotics), Samson Steindal Vonen (CapiPro AS) and Serena Allen (AirVitalize) at Arctic Congress Bodø 2024, where CapiPro AS emerged victorious. (Photo: Markus Thonhaugen / High North Center)
Last year, a company from northern Norway won the prestigious award. Now the search begins for next year's finalists for the High North Young Entrepreneur award.
The High North Young Entrepreneur award has been presented by the High North Center at Nord University since 2018.
The prize was established to promote innovation and entrepreneurship in the northern regions, aiming to encourage young entrepreneurs to develop sustainable business ideas that can contribute to regional development.
The next award ceremony will take place during the High North Dialogue in March 2025. The conference brings together business people, politicians, and industry leaders from around the world in Bodø.
Today marks the start of the search for finalists.
Invited to a pitch
– This is a unique opportunity to present to an international audience. Three finalists are invited to Bodø to pitch their idea. The audience then selects a winner who receives 50,000 NOK, says prize coordinator Andrey Kazakov at the High North Center in a press release.
The northern regions face unique challenges
– We hope to see more applicants from the Nordic countries.
The prize money is only part of the reward. Networking opportunities represent another major benefit for finalists.
Unique challenges
Kazakov explains that next year's conference will focus more on Nordic cooperation, and accordingly, they hope to receive more applications from these countries.
– The northern regions face unique challenges, with scattered populations and limited infrastructure. This is also a region where we see climate changes first. We need young people with innovative ideas who can contribute to sustainable development.
Adviser at The High North Center for Business and Governance, Andrey Kazakov. (Photo: Markus Thonhaugen/High North Center)
Kazakov welcomes all ideas, regardless of their development stage.
– While it is easier to evaluate market-ready projects, the jury has the expertise to see potential ingood ideas still in early stages.
Ment a lot
Last year, Bodø company CapiPro won. CEO Samson Steindal Vonen said the prize was important for them.
– Receiving such recognition from an international audience means a lot.
The deadline for applications is February 5, 2024. Submission can be made by February 2025 via this link.
High North News is an independent newspaper published by the High North Center at the Nord university.
