Amazon has announced the launch of the Amazon Launchpad Innovation Awards, a free competition designed to support emerging, innovative European startups by giving them a chance to win a €100,000 ‘Startup of the Year’ prize, plus €10,000 grants for five finalists.
“Innovation is part of our culture. We continue to invent on behalf of customers, but we’re also the destination for innovative new products from small businesses,” said Xavier Flamand, Director EU Seller Services.
“Since its launch, Amazon Launchpad has supported over 2,000 startups in Europe. These awards demonstrate both our commitment to supporting emerging brands and how we love to delight our customers with new and innovative products.”
Entries are open until 28th March to European startups who sell physical products to consumers. A judging panel will select the top five most innovative startups across Europe from a shortlist of 15 finalists. The five finalists will each win a €10,000 grant, free access to Amazon Launchpad for one year, marketing placements, and the ‘Startup of the Year’ will receive an additional €90,000 grant.
How to apply for the Launchpad Innovation Awards
Startups applying for the award must be:
- Brand owners
- Registered in the UK or the European Union
- Have less than 50 employees
- Operating for less than 10 years with an annual turnover lower than £6.5 million
The judging panel will select products by their aesthetic, design, uniqueness and differentiation, and social, ecological, economical and sustainability aspects will also be considered.
The panel is composed of five industry experts, both within and outside of Amazon, including: Andy Fishburn, Managing Director, Virgin StartUp; Greg Williams, Editor-In-Chief, Wired UK; Jamie Siminoff, CEO, Ring; Aditi Singh, General Manager, Amazon Launchpad Europe; and Ryan Frank, Head of Marketplace, Amazon Spain.
Supporting Small Business
Last year, Amazon invested more than £75 million to support small businesses globally with special Prime Day and festive season promotional programmes. Third party selling partners – most of which are SMEs – surpassed US$3.5 billion in sales globally on Amazon Prime Day 2020, growing even more than Amazon’s retail business. In the UK these businesses saw an increase of more than 75% in product sales.
Amazon Launchpad has supported the launch of over 2,000 startups in Europe and there are now around 13,000 on amazon.co.uk in over 30 categories including furniture, electronics, fashion and beauty. Since its launch in 2015, Amazon Launchpad has worked with over 200 leading venture capital firms, start-up accelerators and crowd-funding platforms to help startups launch products.
In response to the impact of the pandemic and lockdown on small businesses, Amazon also launched the Amazon Small Business Accelerator to help 200,000 small businesses and startups in the UK through online training, bootcamps, partner offers and support from the UK’s leading small business support network, Enterprise Nation.
Learn more about the Amazon Launchpad Innovation Awards, entries close on 28th March 2021.
