The 12th edition of the Iníciate Awards is now open, recognizing the best science and technology business ideas
Two prizes of 6,000 euros will be awarded, and the deadline for submitting nominations is May 11.
Juan Luis García, Regional Minister for Universities, Innovation, and Digital Transformation, and Uxue Itoiz, Managing Director of the public entity European Business and Innovation Center of Navarra (CEIN), presented the twelfth edition of the Iníciate Awards this morning. The awards aim to promote and recognize new scientific and/or technological business projects with a significant impact in the region.
As Minister García emphasized, “these awards demonstrate the Government of Navarra’s support for innovation and entrepreneurship.” “A significant number of the technology projects submitted come from our universities. These are two areas—innovation and talent development—in which our region boasts robust ecosystems,” he noted. He also pointed out that “in Navarre, there are 31,907 people employed in technology-intensive sectors, representing 10% of the total workforce—a figure that grows every year and exceeds both the national and European averages.”
For his part, Itoiz noted that “this is a well-established competition within our entrepreneurial ecosystem, with a total of 507 projects or business ideas submitted across all its editions. Of the 26 winning projects, 16 have gone on to become companies.”
The competition is open to individuals with a new technology-based business idea, where that technology forms the core of the future business venture, and features two categories.
The “Best University Business Idea” category is aimed at individuals or teams within the university community (students, faculty, and/or research staff at universities in Navarre) with innovative business ideas that can serve as the basis for distinctive new entrepreneurial initiatives. The “Best Business Idea” category is open to any individual or group with an idea or development related to science and/or technology.
The competition will award a cash prize of 6,000 euros in each of the two categories, which must be used for purposes related to the development and launch of the business idea. In addition, the winning projects will be able to set up operations free of charge for six months at one of CEIN’s innovation incubators and will be granted a spot in one of its acceleration programs.
Those interested in applying for the Iníciate Awards must complete the corresponding application form available at this link and submit their application online by May 11.
InÍciate 2025 Winners
Last year, in the “Best University Business Idea” category, the award went to the “Pribait” project. It is a software program that runs on the user’s device to prevent phishing and data exfiltration in small and medium-sized businesses, with a clear focus on mitigating human error, which is the leading cause of cyberattacks.
The award in the “Best Business Idea” category went to the “Diabyuda” project, which consists of a clinical decision support system for the personalized treatment of diabetes and related conditions. Joaquín de Carlos Artajo and Francisco Javier Escalada San Martin are members of the project’s founding team.
