Gen-E Festival in Catania, Luxembourg on the podium

Catania, Italy – From 2 to 4 July 2024, Jonk Entrepreneuren Luxembourg made its presence felt at the prestigious European Gen-E festival, celebrating student entrepreneurship. Two Luxembourg teams, Letz Guess and Check & Mate, proudly represented the country in the respective competitions, and Letz Guess was ranked third best mini-company in the whole of Europe!

Gen-E, a major European event celebrating entrepreneurship and the achievements of European students, was held from 2 to 4 July 2024 in Catania, Italy. The event was organised this year by JA Italy, which like Jonk Entrepreneuren Luxembourg is part of the Junior Achievement (JA) Europe network. The festival gives thousands of young entrepreneurs, aged 15 and over, the chance to present their business ideas and compete for the title of best company and best start-up of the year. The Gen-E Festival combines two annual European entrepreneurship competitions for winners of the JA Company (in Luxembourg: “Mini-Entreprises”) and JA Start-Up (in Luxembourg: “Young Enterprise Project”) programmes from 41 countries. This year, Luxembourg came third in the Best JA Company – Business Track category with its Letz Guess project. This is a first for the country!

Team Luxembourg

Letz Guess, winner of the national Mini-Entreprises competition, took part in the JA Company competition organised for European secondary school pupils (aged 15 to 19). The “Company Programme” (or “Mini-Entreprises”) gives pupils the opportunity to set up a small business themselves and run it for one school year. The Letz Guess team convinced the jury thanks to its business acumen, team spirit and
scalability of the project. Thanks to a fantastic pitch, a well-designed sales stand and a detailed report, Letz Guess proved its worth among 41 mini-companies. Letz Guess is an online game that asks questions about the country. The aim is to introduce newcomers to Luxembourg culture and help them integrate, all in a fun way. The game is available in four languages: French, German, English and, of course, Lëtzebuergesch. The team’s mission is to help everyone discover Luxembourg’s past and present, which is why access is completely free. For the Gen-E festival, the budding entrepreneurs have launched two new versions, focusing on the European Union and the Gen-E festival!

The team is made up of 6 students from the Lycée des Arts et Métiers, Elisabeth Flammang, Fabien Friederici, Leslie Bodé, Mathieu Dondelinger, Sébastien Fohr and Sven Ludwig. Teachers Claudia Touceira da Silva, Marc Haas, Mike Pereira Gonçalves and Carole Schmit, along with mentors Ivo Silva and Clémentine Offner, have supported the team throughout the year. To support the youngsters, go to www.letzguess.lu and play!

Check & Mate, at higher education level, took part in the JA Startup competition, demonstrating a strong capacity for innovation and remarkable market potential. The Check & Mate team had the opportunity to take part in the European competition because they won first prize in the Young Enterprise Project (YEP) at national level.
YEP is a higher education programme in which students work as a team to produce a business plan based on an innovative idea for a product or service. Unlike mini-companies, this programme does not require the product or service to be ready for the market. The “Check & Mate” team, made up of Channel Felt, Martin Biever, Morgane Santos Coelho and Estelle Simone Mannes, four students studying for a BTS in Hospitality Management at the Ecole d’Hôtellerie et de Tourisme in Luxembourg, have come up with a freemium application that helps students find jobs and helps HORESCA players find workers.
find workers. Students will be able to filter job offers according to their availability and employers according to their needs.
The team’s teacher is Claudine Thoma and the coach is Elisabeth Frisch from Luxinnovation.

“Gen-E has been an incredibly exciting experience for us. Seeing the big competition and competing against the best young companies in Europe has been both exciting and inspiring.”

Main Awards

The “JA Europe Company of the Year Award” (secondary school level) rewards the mini-companies and young people who have best demonstrated their business acumen and entrepreneurial spirit through their participation in the JA Company programme.1 This year, the award went to the Treberei team, an Austrian project. Luxembourg came third with its Letz Guess project.
The “JA Europe Start-Up of the Year Award” (higher education level) rewards the most viable and sustainable business, focusing on the value (financial, social or cultural) already created in the real market and its potential for expansion.2 This prize was won by the LeakTrack.ai team from Turkey.
The “JA Europe Innovation of the Year Award” (both levels) recognises the mini-companies and start-ups that have developed the most innovative businesses and business solutions with real future investment potential. The most innovative start-up of the year is Oculare from Denmark and the most innovative mini-company of the year is 99Robotics from Denmark.

Signature Awards

Upper Secondary Level

HSBC Climate Resilience Award: 99Robotics – Denmark
PMIEF Best Application of Project Management Award: Blockbaytoys – Germany
Delta Air Lines Sustainable Innovation Award: Plantech – Belgium FR
Alumni Leadership Award – with the support of Nestlé
- Germany – Giulio Pellino
- Austria – Julian Zefferer
- Ise of man – Miltos Provatakis
- Cyprus – Melina Papageorgiou
- UK – Nela Dafydd
Fedex Access Award: Bfore – Portugal
Manpowergroup Ready for Work Award: Whitable – Switzerland
The Unicredit Foundation “Re-power Your Future” Award: Devecol – Slovakia
EmpowerHer National Signature Award – with the support of Unioncamere: Treberei – Austria

University Level

Avanade Digital Innovation Award: LeakTrack.ai – Türkiye
BNY Resilient Futures Award: LeakTrack.ai – Türkiye
Euroclear Financial Award: ColorVital – Belgium FR
EY Gen-E Young Women Leaders Award
- Anna Maria Demetriou – PREVENTA, Cyprus
- Andrea Milacic – DataBite Food Consulting, Montenegro
- Mara-Ioana Hutart – RoBlue Engineers, Romania
Fedex Access Award: Hulpey – Netherlands
Alumni Leadership Award – with the support of Nestlé
- Montenegro – Andrea Milacic
- Norway – Pawel Piotr Janiszewski
- Netherlands – Caspar Mooij

Interview avec les lauréats

How did you find the experience at Gen-E?
“Gen-E was an incredibly exciting experience for us. Seeing the big competition and competing against the best start-ups in Europe was both exciting and inspiring. We prepared well and, in the end, presenting our project in front of 1,000 people on stage was a great experience.”
Did you expect to win this award?
“We weren’t sure we would win an award, because the best of the best from each country were there. The competition was very strong. What’s more, as the first mini-company in Luxembourg to reach the podium, it was a feat never achieved before, and we’re very proud to have achieved it.”
What do you take away from the experience?
“We feel relieved and extremely proud of our team. After these last few intense days, we’re exhausted but incredibly happy. This experience has allowed us to meet new people from all over Europe and experience some unforgettable moments, such as the unexpected eruption of Mount Etna.”
How do you see the future of Letz Guess?
“We have big goals. We want to revolutionise education in Luxembourg and abroad, and continue to grow. A little teaser: a mobile application will be released this summer!”