2026 Citizen Entrepreneurship Competition Application Dates, Eligibility and Voting Timeline

Applications are now open for the 2026 Citizen Entrepreneurship Competition. The programme brings together a global community around entrepreneurship and gives entrants a chance to present ideas and solutions for today’s challenges.

The Citizen Entrepreneurship Competition, also called CEC, is aimed especially at young entrepreneurs. It supports them as they develop ideas for a more peaceful and sustainable world; entrants are encouraged to build ideas with social impact and link them to one or more of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals.

People aged 13 and above can submit their ideas and join the international community.

Who can apply

The competition invites entrepreneurs from age 13 and up. Those who meet that age mark can submit an idea and take part in the 2026 edition.

What participants are expected to do

Applicants are asked to submit a short pitch. That pitch is reviewed against the competition criteria.

Participants must also complete the “Brains versus Capital” and “Sustainable Entrepreneurship” courses, then fill out the Entrepreneurial Design Canvas, known as the EDC.

Once all requirements are met, the idea can move forward for voting.

The three competition phases

The competition runs in three phases.

1. Idea submission and entrepreneurial design

Participants submit a short pitch in the dashboard under “My idea/project”. The pitch is reviewed against the set criteria. Entrants also complete the required courses and fill out the EDC.

2. Voting

All ideas are published, and participants can gather votes while supporting one another.

Ideas that complete both courses and fully complete the EDC will move into the Voting Phase automatically and will be posted on the public website.

3. Jury decision

The ten submissions with the most votes will go to the final stage. An expert jury will assess them and select the winners.

Full timeline for the 2026 Citizen Entrepreneurship Competition

2 March 2026

The 2026 Citizen Entrepreneurship Competition opens.

From this date, participants can submit an idea as a pitch in the dashboard under “My idea/project”.

4 May 2026

This is the last day for submissions.

It is also the last day to complete both the “Brains versus Capital” and “Sustainable Entrepreneurship” courses, along with the Entrepreneurial Design Canvas.

The organisers state that late review may affect a pitch if it is submitted too close to the deadline; applicants may also lose time needed to meet the competition requirements. They also ask participants to submit the idea for voting. Once the full requirements are met, the voting button will appear directly in the idea entry.

5 May 2026

The Voting Phase begins.

All ideas that have completed both courses and the full EDC will move into voting automatically and appear on the public website.

5 June 2026

The Voting Phase ends.

Participants still have the whole day to collect votes. At midnight, voting closes and no further votes can be cast. After that, the organisers will review the votes collected and announce the finalists as soon as possible.

The organisers also state that any form of manipulation or fraud during voting will be monitored closely. Invalid or fake votes will be removed. In severe cases, a participant may be disqualified. Fair and transparent voting remains part of the process.

6 June to 22 June 2026

Votes will be evaluated, and the jury will assess the final entries.

23 June 2026

The winners will be announced.

The top 10 submissions with the most votes will advance to the finals. At that stage, the expert jury will award points based on entrepreneurial vision, feasibility, leadership, social impact, and sustainability. The winners will then be announced on the blog.

Where to get more details

Applicants can read more on the Citizen Entrepreneurship Competition official webpage.

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Meet The Author

This post is authored by Olusegun Fapohunda, the founder and editor of MySchoolGist.

Boasting over a decade of expertise in the education sector, Olusegun offers current insights into educational trends, career opportunities, and the latest news.

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