The fourth edition of the Be(e) Distinctive Awards for Entrepreneurship took place on June 7 at EM Strasbourg, in the presence of nine finalists and numerous ecosystem partners.
Be(e) Distinctive Awards for Entrepreneurship competition
The flagship event of the year in terms of entrepreneurship, this competition is entirely conceived and designed by the teams at EM Strasbourg's La Ruche Entrepreneurial Center. This fourth edition was open to all project leaders, whether students at EM Strasbourg or part of the School's support program. The competition gives a voice to the entrepreneurial aspirations of each and every one of us, bringing to the forefront the doubts, fears, and successes that mark the reality of entrepreneurial journeys.
According to Marion Bromley, Head La Ruche Entrepreneurial Center: “Having the pleasure of organizing the Be(e) Distinctive Awards for Entrepreneurship is a way of supporting young people's formidable capacity to imagine, design, and develop responses to the issues shaping our society and to create the companies of tomorrow. It's a real opportunity to give a voice to these budding entrepreneurs, to challenge them in a competitive context, and to provide them with valuable feedback and advice from the region's entrepreneurial players.”
A three-stage entrepreneurial competition
- To begin, the project leaders supported during the 2023/2024 academic year responded to the call for applications by sending in their dossier and a 90-second video pitch.
- During the second stage, the coaches evaluated the entries while the general public was able to view the video pitches and vote online for one or more of the projects.
- Finally, the nine finalists faced off in the grand final in the form of a Pitch Battle during the morning of June 7, 2024, under the watchful and experienced eye of the jury members, made up of numerous partners from the EM Strasbourg entrepreneurial ecosystem. Nine project leaders gave a five-minute pitch followed by a question-and-answer session with the jury, demonstrating their creativity, good ideas, and the discovery of potential new markets.
Three financial prizes for entrepreneurial aspirations
The Be(e) Distinctive Awards for Entrepreneurship presents three awards to the highest-scoring projects across all three stages of the competition:
- Let’s Jump Awards : Big Brain This award, reserved for projects that are quite advanced and either already commercialized or ready to be launched on their market, went to the Big Brain project, an educational kit designed to acculturate children to technology. The project is led by Taki Bouaroua, a second-year PGE student. He was presented with a check for €1,500 by Warren Michel, coach at La Ruche and digital business manager at SEMIA.
- Impact Project Awards : Younited This prize rewards projects with an impact on society or the environment. The winning project was Younited, run by Nicolas Franke, currently in his third year of the Bachelor of International Business. A check for €1,000 was presented to him by Enrico Prinz, Vice Dean for Accreditations, Internationalization, and Strategic Management at EM Strasbourg. This financial contribution will be used to fine-tune the development of this application designed to combat student loneliness in Strasbourg.
- Fabéon Awards : Kareu 2024 partner and digital printing specialist, Fabéon supports the winning project with technical development. Frédéric Soulier, director, presented a check for €1,000 to Emilie Mathis, a student in the Master of Business Engineering, for her Kaeru project, a hybrid trailer solution that facilitates the mobility of kayaks by bicycle.
The jury was keen to award a "coup de coeur" to the project Deshi Management (career management for amateur and professional boxers) by Magomed Adaiev, a second-year PGE student.
Well done to all the participants and congratulations to the winners. May your projects live long and prosper! See you in 2025 for the next edition of the Be(e) Distinctive Awards for Entrepreneurship.