Celebrating a Decade of Innovation: YEA! Awards 2026 Empowers Albania’s Next Generation of Entrepreneurs
On May 9, 2026, the city of Shkodër transformed into a vibrant hub for youth entrepreneurship as the Young Entrepreneurs Albania (YEA!) Awards celebrated its milestone 10th anniversary. Operating under the theme “Anniversary Time Capsule,” the event was both a retrospective on a decade of impactful work and a promising glimpse into the future of Albanian business.
Since its foundation in 2016 by Gernot Scheffknecht, YEA! has been dedicated to giving Albanian youth the tools, space, and confidence to build their futures. This year’s spectacular gala, held across the iconic Kinema Republika and Qendra Rinore Arka, showcased exactly how far that vision has come.
Preparation and the Pitching Arena The competition featured 20 teams from various regional schools. Rather than simply showing up to pitch, these students went through a rigorous preparation process, attending four intensive workshops covering brainstorming, market analysis, financial planning, and presentation skills.
During the event, an “Idea Market” allowed attendees to interact with the teams, while an eight-member expert jury evaluated the detailed pitches behind closed doors in two separate panels. The teams competed in two primary categories: Best Business Idea (for younger high school students) and Best Business Plan (for graduating seniors), presenting fully fleshed-out concepts and market strategies.
Meet the 2026 YEA! Champions With a total prize pool exceeding €3,000, including cash and high-value tech resources, five standout projects took home the top honors:
- 🏆 Best Business Plan (€350): Fluxion AI Fluxion AI is a forward-thinking agency that develops intelligent automation systems for businesses. By leveraging Artificial Intelligence, their platform connects existing business tools into a single system to reduce manual workload, increase productivity, and modernize operations.
- 🏆 Best Business Idea (€300): Neurolight Merging tech with neuro-education, Neurolight designs smart lighting systems for educational institutions. Using brain-computer interfaces (BCI) and EEG signals, the system dynamically adjusts lighting based on the neurocognitive focus of the room to optimize psychological well-being and learning performance.
- 🚀 Innovation Pack (Value >€1,000): EcoVerse Awarded for the most practical and developed idea, EcoVerse is a free app designed to motivate environmental protection. Users earn points and badges by collecting trash, recycling, and planting trees, successfully building a community around nature conservation.
- 📦 Startup Pack (Value up to €1,000): YouthMinds Recognized as the most creative and bold idea, YouthMinds is a centralized platform that connects young people with online courses. It allows instructors to advertise training while giving youth the resources they need for personal development and future employment.
- 🌱 Sustainable Award (€100): Smart Park Awarded to the idea with the greatest sustainable impact, Smart Park was recognized for its green, responsible vision that prioritizes the future of the community and the environment.
Beyond the Pitches: Community and Educational Impact YEA! Awards is about much more than startup pitches. The event took time to honor the Future Teachers initiative, a peer-learning program where top-performing high school seniors tutor younger students. This year, the program successfully supported over 125 students in improving their academic results.
Furthermore, showcasing a tangible investment in youth, Projekt Albanien awarded 6 financial half-scholarships to standout students to directly support their education.
Looking to Europe The journey for these young innovators is just beginning. The winners of the main categories won’t just walk away with trophies and funding; they have secured tickets to represent Albania at the YouthStart 2026 European Finals in Skopje. There, they will compete on an international stage alongside the best young entrepreneurs from over 15 European countries.
None of this would have been possible without the unwavering support of key partners, including Bashkia Shkodër, Projekt Albanien, Qendra Rinore Arka, and the Erasmus+ network. Here is to the next ten years of “Dream it, Love it, DO it!”.
