Applications Open for "Best Youth Startup in Bulgaria 2026"

The fifth edition of the national youth competition will offer support for a larger number of projects, a rich educational and mentoring program, as well as numerous in-person and online events. 
 
 From January 12 to April 24, 2026, young people from across the country aged 18 to 29 (including students and pupils from grades 11 and 12) with innovative business ideas can register to participate in the fifth edition of the national competition "Best Youth Startup in Bulgaria". The competition is the largest initiative for supporting youth entrepreneurship in the country and is organized by the Fund of Funds and Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" (Faculty of Economics) under the patronage of the Minister of Innovations and Growth. 

The Technical University - Sofia is a partner of the fifth edition of the national competition "Best Youth Startup in Bulgaria - 2026". More than 60 organizations are partners, participating in a 3-month free educational and mentoring program filled with numerous progressive webinars, workshops, gaming and networking meetings, and intermediate competitions. Participants further develop their ideas and gain access to tools and contacts to realize their successful business. Among the partners are financing institutions, investment funds, sectoral associations, accelerators, academic and scientific institutions, media, etc. This year, new partners have joined, including the Ministry of Education and Science, the Ministry of Culture and Sports, the Center for Research and Resource Management, IPA, UASG, UniBit, ManEco, Bayena, Sofia Talks, YES, Net Info, and others.

Projects from all sectors and at different stages are eligible - idea phase, prototype, operating business, growing business. Individual participants or teams can apply, where the leading member is a young person of eligible age, choosing one of the three categories in the competition:

Future Unicorns for startups with innovative technological ideas and potential for rapid growth, targeting international markets (fintech, biotech, greentech, foodtech, healthtech, cybersecurity, space, semiconductor, IoT, etc.).

"Best Youth Startup in Bulgaria 2026" comes with a larger scale and will offer several novelties compared to previous editions. This year, the opportunity for investment will also be sought and evaluated within the framework of the competition. The new edition also comes with a new website https://bestyouthstartup.bg/. Participants will have access not only to the program, important dates, lecturers, and recordings of webinars, but also to additional useful resources in the field of entrepreneurship, innovation, and the path from idea to successful business. Another novelty is the participation of foreign guest lecturers with international experience. This year, the Fund of Funds will strengthen the promotion of the initiative through visits to universities in major cities in Bulgaria.

The competitive part will be led by Founder Institute Central & Eastern Europe and will take place in five stages in April and May. The competition will conclude with an official award ceremony in early June. As in previous years, the prize fund will include internships, access to institutions, events, and contact networks, additional mentoring, subject prizes, and many other opportunities.

"Best Youth Startup in Bulgaria" started in 2022. To date, over 750 participants with more than 500 ideas have gone through it, and 9 of them have received investment for growth. The competition is a springboard for young people in Bulgaria to successfully start their own business and aims to raise entrepreneurial and financial culture, including for generating and developing ideas, business planning, marketing, innovation, presenting to investors, etc. A valuable opportunity for all participants is the creation of business contacts with investors, entrepreneurs, academic circles, and attracting like-minded people to realize their ideas. All young people with a desire for their own business can participate in the competition through the application form on the website https://bestyouthstartup.bg/ .