Europe Goes Beyond Borders as Gen-E 2026 Crowns Its Next Generation of Founders

Riga, Latvia — 9 July 2026 — JA Latvia welcomed Europe's brightest young entrepreneurs to Riga this week, hosting GEN-E 2026, Europe's largest celebration and competition for youth entrepreneurship. From 7–9 July, more than 1,000 young entrepreneurs, educators, business leaders, policymakers and partners from over 40 countries gathered in the Latvian capital for three days of innovation, inspiration and international collaboration under this year's theme, "Beyond Borders." The festival showcased the ambitions and achievements of a community of more than 400,000 young people who take part in JA entrepreneurship programmes across Europe each year.

Hosted by JA Europe and JA Latvia, GEN-E 2026 brought together students, educators, business leaders and policymakers to watch Europe's brightest young minds present their pioneering business ideas and compete for the prestigious titles of JA Europe Company of the Year 2026, JA Europe Start-Up of the Year 2026, and Innovation of the Year at both upper-secondary and university level.

The festival welcomed senior representatives from government, business and education, including Andris Kulbergs, Prime Minister of Latvia; Baiba Braže, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia; and Ieva Jāgere, Director of the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia.

European Commissioner for Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture and Sport Glenn Micallef, who opened GEN-E 2026 with a video message, encouraged participants to "be bold, think beyond borders and continue turning your ideas into real impact," echoing this year's festival theme.

"Failure is the way to success, because that's the only way you learn, excel, become competitive and understand your strenghts… And that is the entrepreneurial spirit you all should always have." — Andris Kulbergs, Prime Minister of Latvia

They were joined by leaders from JA Europe and JA Worldwide, alongside senior representatives from partner organisations, recognising excellence in entrepreneurship, innovation, leadership, sustainability, artificial intelligence, project management and social impact.

GEN-E 2026 also highlighted the power of collaboration in preparing Europe's next generation of entrepreneurs. Leading companies, foundations and institutions worked alongside JA Europe and JA Latvia not only as sponsors, but also as mentors, jury members, speakers, award partners and learning facilitators. Their support gave young entrepreneurs direct access to business expertise, international networks and real-world opportunities to grow their ventures beyond the competition.

Reflecting on the spirit of this year's festival, Salvatore Nigro, CEO of JA Europe, said: "What will matter most tonight is the feeling you will carry with you long after this event ends: the feeling of arriving under different flags, competing with passion, and leaving united as one Europe, building one shared future. This is why we created GEN-E: to bring together a generation of Europeans who believe in the power of entrepreneurship to shape tomorrow."