Editor’s note: This article was first published in June 2011, and the prize amounts, categories and deadlines it gives are for the 2011 edition. Bancaja became part of Bankia in 2010-2011, which was later absorbed by CaixaBank.
A new competition for entrepreneurs from Bancaja, the Valencian savings bank, which will award €425,000 split across several prizes. Young entrepreneurs aged up to 35 (inclusive) can submit their business projects until 28 July, the deadline for entries.
The prizes are divided into categories:
1. Technology-based companies
10 prizes of €15,000, plus 5 special prizes of €15,000 to be awarded among the winners. Technology-based companies are those that meet some of these criteria:
- They operate in high-tech industrial sectors.
- They invest heavily in R&D&I (research, development and innovation).
- They have some form of legal protection for the innovation described.
- They turn technological knowledge into new products or processes for the market.
2. Traditional and/or social enterprises
10 prizes of €10,000.
3. Business projects
20 prizes of €5,000.
The rules and entry requirements are set out in detail in the official rules of the 2011 Bancaja Awards (Bases del concurso Premios Bancaja 2011).
Applications can be submitted through the website www.jovenesemprendedoresbancaja.com, where the winning entrepreneurs and business projects will also be announced in the last week of December this year.
Remember: the deadline is 28 July.
Remember, too, that in any competition for entrepreneurs, the winning business projects are the ones that are ambitious but realistic, and innovative while able to show that the business model is viable and sustainable over time.
All that’s left to say is: good luck to everyone taking part!
Featured image: Joanbanjo, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
