European SME Week - Youth Start-Up Challenge 2026

Dear Members,

With the agreement signed with the European Commission on March 31, 2023, and the decision published in the Official Gazette on May 12, 2023, our country has joined the European Union Single Market Programme - SME (COSME) Component (2021-2027), for which our Presidency is responsible for national coordination. In this context, our efforts continue to ensure our country benefits from this Programme at the highest level. Our Presidency also serves as the national coordinator for the European SME Week, an initiative of the European Commission under COSME. The European SME Week aims to support and promote the activities of the EU, national authorities, and other relevant organizations to support SMEs, encourage entrepreneurship, and inspire young people to become entrepreneurs. In this regard, our country ranks first in terms of the number of annual events held since 2011. Within the scope of the European Union SME Week 2026 events, the "Youth Start-Up Challenge 2026" has been organized for young entrepreneurs aged 18-25, and young visionaries from our country with innovative start-up ideas can apply to the European Commission to participate in the competition. In this context, bold and innovative young entrepreneurs who offer solutions to challenges in areas such as green and digital transformation, social inclusion, economic resilience, etc., are particularly sought.

Detailed information on this matter can be accessed via the following link:

https://futurium.ec.europa.eu/en/promoting-enterprise/youth-start-challenge

For this event, young people with entrepreneurial ideas in various fields, from sustainability to digital innovation, can apply by preparing a 2-minute video and a short business plan. Applications will be submitted directly by candidates to the European Commission via the link specified below by September 20, 2026: