Event 2022
The Gozo Business Chamber, in collaboration with the Gozo Regional Development Authority, Aġenzija Żgħażagħ, Bank of Valletta, and EUROPE DIRECT Gozo, is proud to announce the fourth edition of the ‘Youth 4 Entrepreneurship Gozo’ event.
This event, which will form part of the events being organised during the SME Week, will take the form of a contest for potential young entrepreneurs who wish to share business ideas related to Gozo.
The overall goal of this initiative is to instill confidence in young people enabling them to reach their full potential, direct attention to the economic potential and challenges facing the island of Gozo, whilst encouraging young people to adopt an innovative approach to develop their business ideas based on Gozo’s needs and potential.
Date of event:
Friday 11th November 2022
Theme
This year’s Youth 4 Entrepreneurship contest will focus again on ‘Sustainability’ and more specifically on business ideas which are focused on reducing climate change.
Potential initiatives:
• Actions targeted towards water conservation such as the creation of innovative grey water systems.
• Innovative ways of green transport.
• New ways of protecting certain environments from extreme weather events, such as heavily flooding due to extreme rainfall, and how the water could be collected for beneficial purposes.
• Green walls and roofs to help control the temperatures, but also to absorb water and reduce run-off during storms.
• Building management systems targeted towards increasing the use of energy in building.
• Innovative ways of increasing the generation and uptake of renewable energy.
• Making places such as large retail outlets more energy sustainable, such as for example through the introduction of solar tube which channel sunlight (free) into any environment.
Always remember that all the ideas must make business sense even if the profits are going to be used for example to finance the actions of a non-governmental organization!
You can also think yourself as a business consultant who comes up with a bright idea which needs to be presented to the government of the day to be implemented. So think of this pitch as the best way how to present your idea to potential investors, thinking also how can this be financed, even if this is for the public interest.
The best idea will be selected on the following criteria:
• Applicability to the Gozitan context. This means that any idea that is submitted must be related to Gozo.
• Innovative Approach.
• Ability to solve a potential problem or to cater for a specific need.
• Quality of the Pitch.
Who is eligible to apply?
This contest is aimed at young people between the age of 16 and 30. Applicants should be at least 16 years of age, and not more than 30 years of age, at the time of submission. Applicants should be residents in the Maltese islands, but they may not necessarily be from Gozo. The idea, however, must be strictly related to Gozo. A group of persons may team together to present their ideas. In this case it must be clearly indicated in the application form.While applicants from previous years can participate they cannot submit the same idea, nor can the same idea be submitted by other persons or groups. If a similar idea is presented this needs to be substantially different from what had been presented.
This year’s Youth 4 Entrepreneurship contest will focus again on ‘Sustainability’ and more specifically on business ideas which are focused on reducing climate change.
Potential initiatives:
• Actions targeted towards water conservation such as the creation of innovative grey water systems.
• Innovative ways of green transport.
• New ways of protecting certain environments from extreme weather events, such as heavily flooding due to extreme rainfall, and how the water could be collected for beneficial purposes.
• Green walls and roofs to help control the temperatures, but also to absorb water and reduce run-off during storms.
• Building management systems targeted towards increasing the use of energy in building.
• Innovative ways of increasing the generation and uptake of renewable energy.
• Making places such as large retail outlets more energy sustainable, such as for example through the introduction of solar tube which channel sunlight (free) into any environment.
Always remember that all the ideas must make business sense even if the profits are going to be used for example to finance the actions of a non-governmental organization!
You can also think yourself as a business consultant who comes up with a bright idea which needs to be presented to the government of the day to be implemented. So think of this pitch as the best way how to present your idea to potential investors, thinking also how can this be financed, even if this is for the public interest.
The best idea will be selected on the following criteria:
• Applicability to the Gozitan context. This means that any idea that is submitted must be related to Gozo.
• Innovative Approach.
• Ability to solve a potential problem or to cater for a specific need.
• Quality of the Pitch.
Who is eligible to apply?
This contest is aimed at young people between the age of 16 and 30. Applicants should be at least 16 years of age, and not more than 30 years of age, at the time of submission. Applicants should be residents in the Maltese islands, but they may not necessarily be from Gozo. The idea, however, must be strictly related to Gozo. A group of persons may team together to present their ideas. In this case it must be clearly indicated in the application form.While applicants from previous years can participate they cannot submit the same idea, nor can the same idea be submitted by other persons or groups. If a similar idea is presented this needs to be substantially different from what had been presented.
How to apply
Potential young entrepreneurs are invited to attend the launch of the Youth4Entrepreneurship contest. Applicants who wish to attend the sessions can submit their ideas through this link by not later than Friday 30th September 2022. All eligible participants will be able to present their business idea during an event to be held on Friday 11th November 2022. All entries will be acknowledged. Applicants will also be informed whether their entry is eligible or not. If an applicant or an idea is not eligible, applicants may still be able to re-submit a new application. Those who submit their application later than Friday 23th September, may not necessarily be provided with a reply within the required time frames to be able to submit a new application.
Past editions
2021
2020
2019
2021
Theme
This year’s Youth 4 Entrepreneurship contest focused specifically on two areas ‘Sustainability’ and ‘Digitalisation’. Though sustainability was the focus of last year’s edition, it was still an important topic in today’s reality. Three youths presented 3 ideas all related to sustainability, digitalisation and Gozo, in front of a panel of business experts. The latter also had the opportunity to ask a number of questions related to the idea that was presented. This year’s panel was composed of Elaine Camilleri, auditor and Partner at ACT; Simon Schembri, Senior Manager, Community and Outreach Youth Work Services at Aġenzija Żgħażagħ; Mark Scicluna Bartoli, Executive Product Management and Development Business Banking at Bank of Valletta; and Matthew Caruana, a leading business innovator, and manager at ZAAR, Malta’s leading crowdfunding platform. The event was presented by Francesca Borg.
Prior to the event, Aġenzija Żgħażagħ had also organised two coaching sessions specifically dedicated to interested youths.
The overall goal of this initiative was to instill confidence in young people enabling them to reach their full potential, direct attention to the economic potential and challenges facing the island of Gozo, whilst encouraging young people to adopt an innovative approach to develop their business ideas based on Gozo’s needs and potential. The event was part of the activities being organized as part of the SME Week.
The event was held on Friday 29th October 2021 at the Kempinski Hotel San Lawrenz.
Winning idea
Matthew Curmi was announced as the winner of the contest, taking home €500 for the best idea chosen by the panel. He presented his idea ‘Gozo – Understanding its Nuclear Option’ which consists of a small modular reactor based on nuclear technology and which can be situated on offshore barges to supply energy to Gozo.
Matthew Curmi, 2021 Youth 4 Entrepreneurship Gozo event.
2020
Theme
This year’s event focused on the aspect of sustainability in line with the European Union commitment towards the Green Deal. Eight youths presented six ideas all related to sustainability and Gozo, in front of a panel of business experts. The latter also had the opportunity to ask a number of questions related to the idea that was presented. This year’s panel was composed of Isabelle Mallia, Manager Community and Outreach Youth Work Services at Aġenzija Żgħażagħ, Mark Scicluna Bartoli, Executive EU and Institutional Affairs at Bank of Valletta, Anthony Hili, Entrepreneur at Massar Winery; Marita Portelli, Senior Manager at the Ministry for the Economy, Investment and Small Businesses; and Matthew Caruana, a leading business innovator, and manager at ZAAR, Malta’s leading crowdfunding platform. The event was presented by Dr Joselyn Teuma.
Prior to the event, Aġenzija Żgħażagħ had also organised two coaching sessions specifically dedicated to interested youths One of theses sessions was held physically at the Gozo Business Chamber’s offices, and another one was held online.
The overall goal of this initiative was to instil confidence in young people enabling them to reach their full potential, direct attention to the economic potential and challenges facing the island of Gozo, whilst encouraging young people to adopt an innovative approach to develop their business ideas based on Gozo’s needs and potential. The event was part of the activities being organised as part of the SME Week.
The event was held at the Kempinski Hotel San Lawrenz.
Winning idea
2020 edition has been won by Marthese Cassar and Chrismar Xuereb. Their innovative idea to install kinetic floor tiles in strategic, high traffic positions in Gozo to generate a source of clean renewable energy that can be used to power anything from street lighting to malls, billboards and sports fields, clinched them a prize of €500. Congratulations Marthese and Chrismar!
Matthew Curmi, 2021 Youth 4 Entrepreneurship Gozo event.
2019
Theme
The Gozo Business Chamber, in collaboration with the Ministry for the Economy, Investment and Small Businesses, Bank of Valletta, and the Europe Direct Information Centre – Gozo, held the first edition of the ‘Youths 4 Entrepreneurship – Gozo’ on the 15th November 2019. This event formed part of the events being organised for the SME Week, and consisted of a contest for potential young entrepreneurs who wish3e to share business ideas related to Gozo. The overall goal of this initiative was to direct attention to the economic potential and challenges facing the island of Gozo, whilst encouraging young people to take an innovative approach to develop their business ideas based on Gozo’s needs and potential.
Ideas to be presented had to match the following three criteria:
* Applicability to the Gozitan context
* Innovative Approach
* Ability to solve a potential problem or to cater for a specific need
Winning idea
A group of youths from Sannat (Gozo) who also do valuable work within their community were the winners of this year’s award. They presented an idea related to business activities around Mġarr ix-Xini Valley through a number of sustainable activities which would generate an inflow of income that would help to sustain this activity and ensure further investment on this same activity through the income generated. Congratulations to them!
Winners of 2019 Youth 4 Entrepreneurship Gozo event.
This initiative is an opportunity for potential young entrepreneurs to share their business ideas related to Gozo with the aim of instilling confidence in young people enabling them to reach their full potential, direct attention to the economic potential and challenges facing the island of Gozo, whilst encouraging young people to adopt an innovative approach to develop their business ideas based on Gozo’s needs and potential.