Youth 4 Entrepreneurship – Gozo event

The Gozo Business Chamber, in collaboration with the Ministry for the Economy, Investment and Small Businesses, Aġenzija Żgħażagħ, Bank of Valletta and the Europe Direct Information Centre-Gozo, have announced the second edition of the Youth 4 Entrepreneurship Gozo event.

This 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, while encouraging young people to adopt an innovative approach to develop their business idea based on Gozo’s needs and potential.

This year’s Youth 4 Entrepreneurship contest will focus specifically on the area of Sustainability. Sustainability means that we are able to meet our present needs without in any way jeopardising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.

This is in line with the European Union’s Green Deal, which seeks to combat climate change and environmental degradation, by creating a modern, resource-efficient and competitive economy where there are no net emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050. This seems an arduous task! However if we all do our part, we can achieve this objective.

The COVID-19 pandemic has continued to show the importance of adopting a sustainable approach to all that we do, as we started to appreciate the importance of the natural environment surrounding us. Youth play a very important part in this process as they are the catalyst of change.

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, and

• Ability to solve a potential problem or to cater for a specific need.

Potential applicants between 16 and 30 years of age may submit their proposal until Friday, 16 October. Applicants should be residents of the Maltese islands but they may not necessarily be from Gozo.

Participants will then pitch their business idea in front of a panel of business experts on Friday, 6 November and the winner will be announced at a later date. The winning idea will take home €500.

More information about the event and details about how to apply can be found on: https://gozobusinesschamber.org/event/youth-4-entrepreneurship-gozo/#more-2405