Call for applications open: deadline extended until 10 December at 1 p.m.
What are the EmprendeXXI Awards?
The EmprendeXXI Awards are the boost your company needs to go beyond its own limits. We want to recognise the talent and innovation that truly make a difference to the economy, society and the planet. That’s why we are looking for start-ups with the ambition to go further – those with the vision to create a positive impact and seize this window of opportunity to grow and transform.
The EmprendeXXI Awards are an initiative driven by CaixaBank through DayOne with the collaboration of Enisa in Spain and Banco BPI in Portugal.
Who can participate?
The EmprendeXXI Awards are aimed at technology and digital-based companies in Spain and Portugal that stand out for their innovation capacity and high growth potential. We want your company to be part of the future change, which is why by submitting your application, you will be competing in three award categories. Do you want to know if your start-up meets the defined criteria?
Awards categories
The EmprendeXXI Awards are designed to promote innovative entrepreneurship that has real-world impact on the economy, society and the planet. But these awards are much more than recognition: they’re your window of opportunity to connect with leaders across the entrepreneurial ecosystem and access the key tools that can help your company grow without limits.
If your start-up is one of the winners, you will receive cash prizes, visibility, valuable connections and international training at the world’s leading innovation hubs, such as MIT in Boston. Additionally, you will have the opportunity to collaborate with the CaixaBank Group in an initiative aimed at bringing the entrepreneurial ecosystem closer to the bank’s various business areas.
This is your window of opportunity to take your business where you’ve always dreamed it could go!
Regional Award
Presented to the best company in each region, regardless of the sector it belongs to. All candidates from Spain and Portugal compete according to the location of their registered office. Upon entry, participants will automatically be placed in this category.
Special Awards
Two Special Awards will be presented: the Social Impact Award, for the company that creates the greatest positive impact on society, and the Disruptive Innovation Award, for the most groundbreaking technological innovation. All applications are eligible for these awards, regardless of region, with entries evaluated by experts in each field.
There will also be a special AlumniXXI Award, recognising the company with an outstanding track record in scaling their business.
Tomorrow's Challenges Award
For 19 years we’ve been supporting the best entrepreneurs – and this year we’re celebrating with special awards for those daring enough to transform the economy, improve people’s lives and protect the planet. Because we know that building a better tomorrow starts today.
This award is aimed exclusively at start-ups offering solutions to any of the proposed challenges. When registering, each participant chooses the challenge they wish to apply for, from three categories comprising a total of eight challenges – regardless of region.
Categories of the 19th edition:
BUSINESS TRANSFORMATION
Solutions that drive innovation with a transformative impact on businesses, professionals and the market.
HUMAN & WELLBEING
Solutions that enhance people’s physical and emotional wellbeing, with a real impact on their quality of life.
LIVING PLANET
Innovative solutions that contribute to the ecological transition and sustainability.
Rewarding your talent:
PRIZE
INVESTORS DAY EMPRENDEXXI
Long-standing Awards
Nineteen years ago, we came up with this idea to help innovative individuals to make their dreams come true by providing equal opportunities throughout Spain. To date, we have helped more than 560 companies to grow thanks to the EmprendeXXI Awards.
19
editions
More than
€
9,9
M
awarded
More than
560
winning companines
Calendar for the
19th edition
Follow this unique edition of the EmprendeXXI Awards and keep up to speed with each of the stages.
APPLICATION STAGE
22 October to 10 December
PROJECT ASSESSMENT
15 December to 23 January
JURIES AND AWARD CEREMONIES REGIONAL CATEGORY
February to May
JURIES AND AWARD CEREMONIES CHALLENGES AND SPECIAL AWARDS CATEGORY
May
INTERNATIONAL TRAINING
June to July
Spread the word about the EmprendeXXI Awards
Help the entrepreneurs around you to ignite their ideas and seize their window of opportunity! Click the button below to download our campaign materials and help spread the word. You can also recommend start-ups to us!
Spread the word about the EmprendeXXI Awards
Help the entrepreneurs around you to ignite their ideas and seize their window of opportunity! Click the button below to download our campaign materials and help spread the word. You can also recommend start-ups to us!
Winners of previous editions
Do you want to know which start-ups have received the award for being the most innovative company, for having the greatest growth potential in each region and for presenting the best solutions to the challenges posed?
Winners of previous editions
Do you want to know which start-ups have received the award for being the most innovative company, for having the greatest growth potential in each region and for presenting the best solutions to the challenges posed?
The EmprendeXXI Awards
in first person
Miguel Silva-Constenla
PEXXI20 WINNER FOR CATALONIA AND DEEPTECHXXI
What I most value about the Start-Up AwardsXXI is the enormous visibility that it gives us in terms of investors, public entities and clients. It has given us great visibility on a national scale and has confirmed that what we are doing at AllRead has a real future.
Carla Maté
WINNER OF THE PEXXI24 DISRUPTIVE INNOVATION AWARD
Winning the PEXXI will give us significant visibility and access to key players in the ecosystem, helping us move closer to our goal of bringing this drug to market.
Pilar Gerona
REGIONAL WINNER EXTREMADURA PEXXI24
The most valuable part has been sharing this journey with other entrepreneurs I connected with from the very beginning. Being surrounded by people facing similar challenges has made me feel truly supported throughout.
Ricard Guillem
WINNER OF THE DAYONE CHALLENGE “ECONOMY OF TOMORROW” PEXXI23
The network of contacts is incredible, and all the exposure we are receiving from entrepreneurs, universities, and professors makes this program exceptional for reinforcing many concepts that, in our day-to-day work, we cannot always dedicate time to.
Amaia Rodríguez
TERRITORIAL WINNER OF THE VALENCIAN COMMUNITY AND
WINNER OF THE IMAGIN CHALLENGE "PLANET OF TOMORROW" PEXXI23
Winning the Start-Up AwardsXXI is a recognition that we are doing things right and that there is another way to do things. This is the message Julen and I always convey: creating a social enterprise where the purpose is to clean plastic from the ocean and building a business model around it.
Sara Toledano
PEXXI22 WINNER FOR CATALONIA
As well as the contacts created by the Start-Up AwardsXXI and its repercussions, the events and training programmes, as well as the community of winners, are a great help to entrepreneurs and show us how to consolidate our vision and think strategically so that we can guide the company.
Fermín Carmona
For Hotelverse, being recognised by the Start-Up AwardsXXI is the drive we need to continue marking milestones in the industry. We are very proud to receive this award which recognises our value proposal and strong growth perspectives.
Maria Fernanda Gonzalez
PEXXI21 WINNER FOR CATALONIA AND PLANETAXXI
I believe that the Start-Up AwardsXXI are an excellent example of healthy competition, in which talent and effort are rewarded, the choices of the judging panels are transparent and there is no self-interest or ideologies. I feel extremely honoured to have taken part and won because the award is perfectly in line with our values as a company. The award is important to us as it vouches for our project.
Andreu Climent
PEXXI21 WINNER FOR MADRID AND SILVERXXI
Winning the Start-Up AwardsXXI has been a highly enriching experience from every aspect as Corify is now at a more advanced stage, meaning that it has been able to take and use fully the opportunities that this award brings. It has been a learning experience for all of the team from preparing the questionnaire to helping to prepare the pitches and the different presentations. And, above all, the Moonshot training has been a wake-up call to ascend to the next level.
Sónia Ferreira
PEXXI20 WINNER FOR NORTE E CENTRO (PORTUGAL)
This award helped to put BestHealth4U on the map, fostering contact with the market, both for the business itself, through potential clients and investors, and in terms of collaboration with R & D institutions and hospitals. As founding CEO, my visibility and credibility increased as far as institutions and investors were concerned, as did my nominations for a number of awards.
Carlos Uraga
WINNER OF THE PEXXI19 IMPACT TECH AWARD
My experience of the Start-Up AwardsXXI has been extremely fulfilling. As entrepreneurs with very different profiles whose paths do not usually cross, we have been able to learn a lot from each other. What’s more, we’ve had the chance to get to know in depth the ecosystem of Estonia, the country with the most Unicorn companies per capita.
María González
PEXXI20 WINNER FOR MADRID AND WELLBEINGXXI
I would highlight two aspects of participating in Start-Up AwardsXXI. On the one hand, spending time with other entrepreneurs is always very enriching. And, on the other hand, getting to know first hand how business ventures are evolving in other countries. The immersion in Estonia, a country that is considerably more digitised than Spain, gave me another perspective of how to do things and plan in the long term.
dayOne is a service created by CaixaBank to support young companies that are rapidly evolving on a worldwide scale whilst carrying out activities that add value using their own funds.
In addition, learn about the reports and publications on the entrepreneurial ecosystem published by DayOne at DayOne Observatory.
Media
Access to all the contents (presentations, round tables, interviews) of the Day One Innovation Summit and the territorial delivery acts of the EmprendeXXI Awards.
FAQs
How are the winners chosen?
The first stage reviews the eligibility of the candidacies. The candidacies that do not meet the terms and conditions or which have not presented the required documentation are ruled out from the process.
Later, all the candidacies are scored. All the evaluators have evaluation tables that specify the criteria to be assessed and the scores to be assigned based on said criteria. The candidacies are reviewed by several evaluators. Once the candidacies have been evaluated, rankings are created by category of challenges and these are sent to the different selection bodies.
Each award has an independent selection process. This means that 50 technical committees and juries are convened to choose the more than 30 winners of the edition. At any phase it may be requiered to present and defend their application before the committee or jury either in person or virtual.
Who is on the juries?
The different Technical Committees and the juries are formed by members of the innovation ecosystem: investors (venture capital funds and business angels), successful entrepreneurs, prestigious businessmen, previous award winners, representatives from universities and business schools, business accelerators, organising and collaborating entities in the different territories, and representatives of the granting entities.
How are the winning companies notified?
Between the months of February and May 2024, summits and regional territorial delivery events are held. The Tomorrow’s Challenges Awards and the Special Awards will be presented at the closing ceremony, which will take place in May 2026. All dates will be published on the website of the EmprendeXXI Awards.
Do the Awards cover other costs?
The organisation covers the travel costs to Barcelona for one representative of each finalist of the Tomorrow’s Challenges Awards and Special Awards called by the sector committees and juries. The costs for the other trips associated with the territorial awards are to be covered by the participants.
