Beyond Borders: Europe’s young entrepreneurs gather in Riga

From 7 to 9 July 2026, Riga, Latvia, hosted GEN-E 2026, Europe’s largest festival dedicated to youth entrepreneurship and the annual European championship organised by JA Europe and JA Latvia.

Under the theme ‘Beyond Borders’, the event brought together Europe’s most promising young entrepreneurs to celebrate innovation, entrepreneurial spirit and young people’s ability to create solutions that transcend borders. Participants from over 40 European countries gathered in Riga to present their projects, exchange ideas and compete for prestigious European awards.

Two teams from Luxembourg represented the country at GEN-E 2026

Following their victory at JEL Day 2026, SoilStallion and Smart4Leak represented Luxembourg on the European stage.

SoilStallion, a mini-company from the Lycée Aline Mayrisch, comprising Pierre Clemes, Ilias Derchoul, Amin Licina and Samuel Petri, took part in the JA Europe Company of the Year Award (Upper-Secondary Level) competition. The team developed a premium organic fertiliser made from pasteurised horse manure, a natural and sustainable solution designed to improve soil quality and structure in the long term.

Smart4Leak, a team from the Lycée Guillaume Kroll and the Jonk Entrepreneuren Luxembourg Startup Programme, comprising Anton Savitchi, Diogo José Bento Soares, Alexandre Greven and Daniel Francisco Silva, took part in the JA Europe Start-up of the Year Award (University Level) competition. Their innovative solution detects water leaks in real time by analysing vibrations in pipes.

Both teams presented their projects to international juries comprising business leaders, entrepreneurs, investors and innovation experts.

Upper-Secondary Level

 JA Europe Company of the Year 2026 

• 1st place – LIPIGO – JA Slovakia
• 2nd place – ENALION – JA Greece
• 3rd place – HERSHIELD – JA Cyprus

JA Europe Innovation of the Year 2026 

• 1st place – MOORE UB – JA Norway
• 2nd place – KIRYAK – JA Estonia
• 3rd place – SAFECLIP – JA Lithuania

University Level

JA Europe Start-Up of the Year 2026

• 1st place – VERDIAX – JA Netherlands
• 2nd place – DONA – JA Bulgaria
• 3rd place – RIFF SNACKS – JA United Kingdom

JA Europe Innovation of the Year 2026

• 1st place – LIVIA – JA Cyprus
• 2nd place – Smart4Leak – JA Luxembourg
• 3rd place – VitisIno – JA Turkey

European Signature Awards – Upper-Secondary Level

Alumni Leadership Award supported by Johnson & Johnson
Modestas Raila – JA Lithuania
Loore Lee Allmaa – JA Estonia
Natalija Kundačina – JA Serbia
Papavasileiou Vasileios – JA Greece
Peter Džupka – JA Slovakia
Anastasia Molashkhia – JA Georgia

FedEx Access Award
Moore UB – JA Norway

Delta Air Lines Sustainable Innovation Award
RE-VITALIZE – JA Isle of Man

The huManpower Award by ManpowerGroup
Fitboxd – JA Czech Republic

PMIEF Best Application of Project Management Award
ENALION – JA Greece

The UniCredit Foundation “Re-power Your Future” Award
MONETA WORKS – JA Serbia

The Jørgen M. & Anette Clausen AI Award
VOICELENS – JA Romania

European Signature Awards – University Level

Alumni Leadership Award supported by Johnson & Johnson
Izaak Scicluna – JA Malta
Tim Bottinga – JA Netherlands
Daniel Francisco Silva – JA Luxembourg
Maria Valente – JA Portugal
Louis Gerard – JA Belgium FR
Carlos Fraguas – JA Spain

FedEx Access Award
LIVIA – JA Cyprus

EY AI Innovators Award
SIEMAS – JA Denmark

National Signature Awards

Investment and Development Agency of Latvia Best Stage Presentation Award
MONETA WORKS – JA Serbia

Riga City Council Best Stand Award
SAFECLIP – JA Lithuania

Public Choice Awards

Public Choice Award – Upper-Secondary Level supported by MikroTik
BIOCEL

Public Choice Award – University Level supported by Bata
ALGEBO.AI – JA Romania

Special Awards

GEN-E Viral Reel Competition
BERED – JA Portugal

Get in the Ring by Unknown Group
INTERDORM – JA Czech Republic

De La Vega Global Entrepreneurship Award Nominee
LIPIGO – JA Slovakia