Verizon & Unloc: Young Entrepreneurs Challenge 2026

Verizon and Unloc run this pan-European pitching competition for 16 to 25 year olds with a tech-led idea addressing a sustainability problem, judged on innovation, sustainability and viability from a 60 to 90 second video. The eligibility is more forgiving than it looks: a business only has to be pre-start, meaning it has not begun trading yet, so a student with a genuine idea and nothing more can enter without any formal company behind them. It is a natural fit for enterprise and entrepreneurship content, and the sustainability framing gives you a live example for externalities and market failure. There is real money on the table, a £10,000 grand prize plus mentorship, with three £1,000 Ignite Prizes for promising but unfinished ideas. It rewards a good idea and a confident pitch over written economic analysis, so it sits as enrichment and personal-statement material rather than exam technique. Accessible to any student with an idea, free to enter, deadline 9 October 2026.  Apply here