The event will bring together Europe’s most talented young entrepreneurs from 39 countries, including 40 student companies and 19 university startups, all competing for the titles of Europe’s Company of the Year and Europe’s Startup of the Year.
Shroomies NYT, a student company from Etu-Töölö Upper Secondary School in Helsinki, secured its place at the European finals after being named Finland’s Company of the Year at the Uskalla Yrittää (Dare to Try) National Final. The team produces air-dried mushroom jerky enriched with protein, offering a nutritious, lightweight and environmentally friendly alternative to traditional dried snacks. Designed with both domestic and international markets in mind, the product combines sustainability, health and innovation in response to growing consumer demand for responsible food choices.
The competition jury praised Shroomies NYT for its well-developed business concept, strong commitment and innovative value proposition, highlighting the product’s scalability and significant growth potential.
The second Finnish company to compete at GEN-E 2026 is Vaara Coaching NYT from University of Jyväskylä. They won the title of Startup of the year (higher education) in the Uskalla Yrittää National Final. Vaara Coaching provides experiential coaching services to help teams manage stress and workload. Their approach combines research-based knowledge, guided challenges and reflection, creating practical skills that can be directly applied in everyday work.
According to the Finnish jury, the team addresses a highly relevant topic with strong expertise and a concrete, competitive strategy, offering significant potential for product development and growth.
The success of both companies demonstrates the creativity, entrepreneurial spirit and sustainability-focused mindset of Finland’s next generation of innovators. These companies will now compete against Europe’s best student companies and university startups at GEN-E, Europe’s largest entrepreneurship festival for young people.
Europe’s Biggest Stage for Young Entrepreneurs
GEN-E is Europe’s premier entrepreneurship festival for young people and the flagship annual event of Junior Achievement Europe. Every year, it brings together the continent’s most promising young entrepreneurs, innovators and future business leaders, providing them with an international platform to showcase ideas that could become tomorrow’s successful companies.
This year, for the first time in the event’s history, Latvia will host GEN-E, welcoming hundreds of young entrepreneurs, investors, business leaders, educators and innovation experts from across Europe.
Participants will present innovative solutions in sustainability, health, technology, education and social entrepreneurship, while competing for Europe’s most prestigious youth entrepreneurship awards and building international networks for future collaboration.
“We are honoured to host GEN-E in Latvia for the very first time and welcome Europe’s brightest young entrepreneurs to Riga. GEN-E is much more than a competition – it is a celebration of innovation, creativity and entrepreneurial spirit. We look forward to bringing together talented young people from across Europe and showcasing Latvia and Riga as a dynamic destination for innovation, business and international collaboration,” says Jānis Krievāns, CEO of Junior Achievement Latvia.
Discovering Latvia and Riga
Beyond the competition, GEN-E 2026 will offer participants an opportunity to discover Latvia and its capital city, Riga.
As the largest city in the Baltics, Riga combines a rich cultural heritage with a modern and rapidly developing innovation ecosystem. The city is home to a UNESCO World Heritage-listed Old Town, one of the world’s finest collections of Art Nouveau architecture, vibrant cultural life and extensive green spaces, all located within easy reach of the Baltic Sea coastline.
For international visitors, GEN-E will provide a unique opportunity to experience Latvia as a safe, modern and easily accessible destination for tourism, innovation, investment and international events.
Europe’s next generation of founders, innovators and business leaders will gather in Riga to present ideas that could become tomorrow’s international success stories. For many participants, GEN-E represents the first step towards building globally recognised companies and developing solutions to some of society’s most pressing challenges.
About GEN-E
GEN-E is the annual entrepreneurship festival and European championship organised by Junior Achievement Europe. It brings together Europe’s most talented student companies, university startups, investors, business leaders, educators and policymakers to celebrate innovation, entrepreneurship and the next generation of European business leaders.
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