The Creative Young Entrepreneur Luxembourg (CYEL) has just launched its 16th edition, which comes with new services for selected companies. The perfect occasion to take another look at this initiative which is one of the oldest startup competitions in Luxembourg , created in 2007 by the Junior Chamber International (JCI) Luxembourg.
JCI is a non-profit association created in 1915, and present today in more than 120 countries with more than 200.000 members worldwide. The main mission is “to provide development opportunities that empower young people to create positive change”.
JCI Luxembourg elects through the CYEL the best Luxembourgish startups. The objective of this competition is to allow young leaders to showcase their companies and help them take them to the next level.
This is in line with JCI's mission to transform passionate young people into capable and entrepreneurial young leaders and to integrate them into the economic and social sphere of Luxembourg. And this is reflected in the abbreviation CYEL:
- C for Creative: innovative startup but agnostic
- Y for Young: you must be between 18 and 40 years old and the startup must also be less than 5 years old
- E for Entrepreneur: you found external or internal financing and you are involved in the management of the company
- L for Luxembourg: your startup must be established in Luxembourg
450 applications from 15 editions
For the last edition 15, when CYEL first started in Luxembourg, more than 45 finalists were selected out of the 450 applications.
The list of previous finalists contains a lot of entrepreneurs who are today very well established on the scene such as Xavier Buck, Nicolas Henckes, Thibaut Britz, Alex Panican, Ilana Devilers, Tom Michel...
An international visibilty
As an example, the winner of last year Tahereh Pazouki with her Startup Magrid has continuously been in the news, and even managed to win the European competition CYE allowing her to participate in the world finals in Hong Kong next October.
The initial visibility granted through winning the CYEL competition, as well as the continued mentorship of the investor and independent board director Candi Carrera, one of the prizes offered have certainly played their part in this success.
It is very representative what the CYEL stands for: we challenge young entrepreneurs to think critically and creatively with an outstanding business model, real marketing positioning and strategic goals to generate profits and become sustainable.
Winning the competition can really be the necessary boost to reach the next stage for any startup!
Masterclasses and pitching sessions
The best startup of the year is announced during the gala in front of more than 150 guests including startups and incubators of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the country, the corporate world as well as our sponsors: Microsoft, BIL, Lalux etc all in one place:.
This year especially will be even more exciting. With Masterclasses offered to all the registered startups, a Startup Safari which includes pitching workshops and matchmakings with the sponsors for the top 10 selected startups and a lot more exciting cash and in-kind prizes for the finalists, the 16th edition will be stronger than ever.
Our extended team with our sponsors and partners taking care of supporting innovative startups will contribute to the success of the CYEL entrepreneurs, providing tools and services dedicated and adapted to startups having strong positive and sustainable impact on society.
They are major players in the CYEL competition thanks to their expertise, their visions and their missions and they want to support all our startups with relevant partnerships for potential business opportunities.
Stay tuned!
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