Employment department extends until December 10 the deadline to submit proposals to the Entrepreneurial Ideas Contest

The Department of Employment and Local Promotion of the Benidorm City Council has extended until December 10 the deadline to submit proposals to the XVII Entrepreneurial Ideas Contest, a contest that aims to reward and recognize “the best viable business projects that help to energize and diversify the productive fabric of Benidorm.” The councilor of the department, Mónica Gómez, has indicated that “this initiative contributes to promoting the entrepreneurial culture and presenting self-employment as a viable option for job placement, thus reinforcing the actions that are promoted throughout the year with this objective from the Employment and Local Promotion Agency", which is why it has invited people to take advantage of this extension of deadlines to continue submitting proposals to it.

The councilor recalled that “as in previous editions, the Employment and Local Promotion Agency has in this contest the support of business entities and institutions committed to entrepreneurship such as the Rotary Club Benidorm, the Valencian Institute of Tourism Technologies (Invattur), the European Center for Innovative Companies (CEEI-Elche), the Association of Business Women of the Marina Baixa (MEMBA), and JOVEMPA-Marina Baixa”.

Gómez explained that the deadline to submit proposals for this Competition began on December 8 and was initially scheduled to end on November 22. However, the Employment and Local Development area has chosen to extend the deadline until 11:50 p.m. on December 10 to “give more options and opportunities so that a greater number of entrepreneurs can opt,” the councilor highlighted.

As in previous years, the proposals will be submitted on the municipal website (https://sede.benidorm.org), through the General Registry section. The rules of the call can be consulted in the Official Bulletin of the Province (BOP) number 213. They establish that projects formalized throughout 2022 or 2023 may participate in the contest and that only one project per person may be contributed.

Gómez explained that the Contest has three phases. First, all proposals will be evaluated by the staff of the Employment and Local Promotion Agency to verify that they meet the requirements established in the bases. Those that meet them will be evaluated in a second phase by the contest jury, which will assess the following criteria: innovation, economic viability, technical viability, knowledge of the potential market, and development of the activity in Benidorm. Likewise, projects presented by people registered in Benidorm will have a starting score in this phase, as will groups in which at least half of their members meet the registration requirement.

In the third and final phase, the selected ideas will be presented to the jury, which will assess both the presentation and the originality of the project.

In this edition of the Competition, the City Council plans to award two prizes and two-second prizes for a total amount of 5,000 euros. Specifically, the best business idea will receive a prize of 2,500 euros; while a 2nd prize valued at 1,500 euros is planned. There will also be two-second prizes of 500 euros for the project with the greatest social responsibility and the greatest tourism promotion, respectively.

Additionally, any of the first two prizes will have the option of starting up at l'Espai Coworking of the Employment and Local Development Agency. Likewise, the winning idea will have a free year as a member of Jovempa; and the winning projects presented by women, to MEMBA.

Added to these awards is the 'Batiste Fuster' Award, awarded by the Rotary Club Benidorm, worth 2,000 euros. This award will go to the project that best considers the aspects of accessibility, solidarity, quality, sustainability, innovation, and creativity.