According to an order published in the Official Journal on Friday, the Government of the Azores has defined the period between May 1 and June 15 as the first phase for the submission of applications to the Regional Entrepreneurship Competition.

The Resolution also stipulates that the application period for the second phase of the competition will take place from September 1 to October 15; the third and last application period runs between October 16 and 30.

"These three phases of the Regional Entrepreneurship Competition will allow the development of business ideas presented in the first stage Regional Entrepreneurship Competition will allow the business ideas presented in the first phase, and passing to the subsequent steps, enter into a development and consolidation process, with the aim of ensuring the implementation of the winning projects for business initiatives," said Vice-President of the Government.

According to Sérgio Ávila, "there will be a period for the presentation of business ideas in previously defined areas, followed by the selection of these ideas by a jury."

After the selection phase, the competition includes a development period for the five best business ideas according with a programme that was specifically designed for this purpose; the number of selected ideas may be higher if their quality meets the criteria.

"As a result of this second phase, we will have properly structured business plans that will be submitted to the third and final phase of the competition. Of the five projects, the jury will select the top three projects," said the Vice-President of the Government.

The Regional Entrepreneurship Competition will award a prize of 25 thousand Euros to the 1st place, 20 thousand to the 2nd place and 15 thousand Euros to the 3rd place. However, these cash prices will be award on the condition that the amount will be added to share capital of the companies to be established.
 
"Hence, we hope to attract better ideas and render the creation of promising businesses more effective by providing consultancy and advisory services or training in order to enhance the viability of the winning projects," said Sérgio Ávila.

For the government official, "the Regional Entrepreneurship Competition is another stimulus to the entrepreneurial spirit demonstrated by Azorean youngsters."

"We should bear in mind that the number of investment projects submitted by youngsters in 2013 under the support programmes provided by the Government of the Azores almost doubled compared to 2012. The projects presented last year represented an investment over 31 million Euros and the estimated creation of 346 jobs," said the government official.

"Azorean youngsters have demonstrated their skills and their belief in the future of the Region, which is evidenced in their clear investment in innovative business projects. In this regard, I believe that Regional Entrepreneurship Competition will show, once again, the entrepreneurial spirit of youngsters.