Deadline: June 30, 2017
Do you have a sustainability initiative, product or service that needs to get to the next level? Unilever Young Entrepreneurs Awards can help you take it there! We are living in a world where temperatures are rising, water shortages are more frequent, food supplies are increasingly scarce and the gap between rich and poor is increasing. Populations are growing fast, making basic hygiene and sanitation even more of a challenge. We can overcome these challenges and build a bright future for everyone, if we work together. But to do this, the world needs a plan.
Unilever is looking for innovative and scalable technologies or initiatives that are contributing to one or more of these four categories:
- Farm to Table: In this category, they are looking for inspiring entrepreneurs who are working on sustainable initiatives relating to food and drink production right through to consumption.
- Opportunities for Women: Here they are seeking initiatives that help to tackle the discrimination and disadvantages millions of women face around the world. You might be working to help provide access to skills and training for women, and creating opportunities for women to actively, safely and fairly participate in the economy.
- Waste: Are there entrepreneurs out there with ingenious initiatives that help to tackle waste – to reduce, reuse or recycle waste throughout the pre-production, production and consumption lifecycle? Initiatives should demonstrate a clear business (financial), consumer (benefit), social and environmental case.
- Water: Are you working on an initiative that tackles water scarcity, or one that addresses water pollution or sanitation and hygiene issues? Unilever is looking for solutions that conserve or reduce the amount of water used across communities, or during the extraction or cultivation of raw materials or through manufacturing processes.
Prizes
- The Unilever Young Entrepreneurs Awards will recognise up to eight winners in 2017. Two finalists in each of the four categories will be selected from a video interview process and invited to an Accelerator Programme in Cambridge, where they will work with experts from the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, Unilever and other guest experts.
- A winner will be selected out of each of the four categories. Those category winners will go forward to pitch to a guest judging panel who will then decide on the overall winner of the 2017 competition. The overall winner will receive the ‘HRH The Prince of Wales Young Sustainability Entrepreneur Prize.’
- All will attend a special prize event hosted in London.
- The winner of the ‘HRH The Prince of Wales Young Sustainability Entrepreneur Prize’ will receive a €50,000 cash award and one-to-one mentoring support tailored to their specific needs for a duration of 12 months.
- The category winners will receive a €10,000 cash award and one-to-one mentoring support tailored to their specific needs for a duration of 12 months.
- The category finalists will receive a €7,000 cash award and one-to-one mentoring support tailored to their specific needs for a duration of 12 months.
Eligibility
- Open to anyone from around the world, aged between 18 and 35 (as of 30 June 2017), who is working on an initiative in one of our four categories; Farm to Table, Opportunities for Women, Waste and Water;
- Your initiative must have already progressed beyond the idea stage and started making an impact.
Application Process
To submit your entry, you’ll need to create a profile and complete the application form. You’ll need to tell all about your initiative’s story so far, and your vision for its future. The more you can share, the better.
For more information, visit Unilever Young Entrepreneurs Awards.
