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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.
DayOne Innovation Summits
A day dedicated to innovation, technology and entrepreneurship
During the DayOne Innovation Summits, taking place between March and May 2026, the judging panel will convene and the EmprendeXXI Award ceremony for each region will be held – a total of 17 events in Spain and one in Portugal. The final phase will be held in Barcelona on 27 May, where the Tomorrow’s Challenges Awards and the Special Awards will be presented in the Social Impact and Disruptive Innovation categories.
Next events
Select a date on the calendar
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
March to May
JURIES AND AWARD CEREMONIES CHALLENGES AND SPECIAL AWARDS CATEGORY
May
INTERNATIONAL TRAINING
June to July
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.
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
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.
