The Ministry of Industry and Technology, KOSGEB EU and Foreign Relations Directorate, is responsible for the national coordination of the European Union Single Market Programme - SME (COSME) Component (2021-2027), in which our country participates, with the agreement signed with the European Commission on March 31, 2023 and the decision published in the Official Gazette on May 12, 2023. In this context, our activities aimed at ensuring that our country benefits from this Programme at the highest level continue. Our Directorate also serves as the national coordinator of the European SME Week, an initiative of the European Commission under COSME. The European SME Week aims to support and disseminate the activities of the EU, national authorities and other relevant organizations to support SMEs, to support entrepreneurship and to encourage young people to become entrepreneurs. In this context, our country ranks first in terms of the number of annual events held since 2011. As part of the European Union SME Week 2026 events, the “Youth Start-Up Challenge 2026” has been organized for young entrepreneurs aged 18-25, and young visionaries from our country with innovative start-up ideas can participate in the competition by applying to the European Commission. In this context, bold and innovative young entrepreneurs who produce solutions to problems experienced in areas such as green and digital transformation, social inclusion, economic resilience, etc. are sought.

In this context, detailed information can be accessed via the link: https://futurium.ec.europa.eu/en/promoting-enterprise/youth-start-challenge

Young people with entrepreneurial ideas in many areas from sustainability to digital innovation can apply to this event with a 2-minute video and a short business plan.

Applications must be submitted by candidates directly to the European Commission via the specified link by 20 September 2026: https://ec.europa.eu/eusurvey/runner/759cca84-93e5-25f5-aa07-e69cb7377f6e