The Citizen Entrepreneurship Competition (CEC) is a free annual global competition run by Stiftung Entrepreneurship (Germany) that empowers young people from age 13 to develop and pitch business ideas for a more peaceful and sustainable world. Participants from 141 nations have joined since the competition launched in 2014.
Competition timeline: CEC runs annually from March through June; the most recently completed cycle (CEC 2026) ran March 2 – June 5, 2026.
Three phases:
- Idea Submission & Entrepreneurial Design — Submit a short pitch, complete two online courses, and fill out the Entrepreneurial Design Canvas (EDC) outlining vision, feasibility, financing, and impact.
- Public Voting — All submitted ideas are published on the Entrepreneurship Campus platform; participants gather votes from the global community.
- Jury Decision — The ten submissions with the most votes are reviewed by an expert jury; winners are selected based on social impact, feasibility, and entrepreneurial design.
What participants gain:
- Access to free online entrepreneurship courses and resources
- Global community of founders and mentors from 141 countries
- Professional jury feedback for finalists
- Visibility for their project or social venture
Eligibility: Age 13+, any country, any background. Ideas must address one or more of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Entirely free to participate.