The 10th Pépite Prize is now open

“Strengthening the entrepreneurial spirit and innovation in higher education, while implementing training, support and awareness-raising actions”. This is the objective of the Pépite France network, launched in 2014 by the French ministry of higher education, a network that brings together 33 regional “Pépites” (a French acronym for “Pôles étudiants pour l’innovation, le transfert et l’entrepreneuriat”) implemented all over France which organises the new edition of the Prize of the same name.

A network and a status

The Pépite France network encourages in a practical way networking with support and funding entities for projects of business creation by students and/or young graduates who are holders of a “étudiant-entrepreneur” (student-entrepreneur) status.

The national status of “étudiant-entrepreneur” (SNEE) gives room for the construction and development of business projects “as part of a university study plan, in the higher education institution, and with support”. Thanks to this national status, students and graduates can design a business project in a local Pépite. As the ministry stresses, the “Diplôme d’établissement étudiant-entrepreneur” (D2E, Stuent-Entrepreneur Institutional Degree) allows to “give birth to a project with top security and visibility”.

This status is granted to a student by a “Pépite committee of commitment” which will assess “the reality and quality of the business project, in addition to the assets and motivation to engage of the project leader”. The status is granted to any student complying with eligibility requirements, free of exclusion due to nationality, age, gender or handicap. 

Double interest

With this status (or the degree), and depending on the quality of their project, applicants may enter the Prix Pépite contest, a competition mainly aiming at encouraging and supporting the creation of innovative businesses in France.

The competition is organised by the ministry in charge of higher education in collaboration with Bpifrance, the French investment bank funding and developing companies. Two stakes of the Prix Pépite will particularly foster student-entrepreneurs to participate in the challenge. The Prize awarded to the best Pépite projects allows to:

• highlight and publicise the quality of the projects of innovative or creative companies all over mainland and overseas France;
• win support in their entrepreneur processes, financial support and tailor-made assistance.

Territorial and national laureates

All innovative business (or association) creation projects may be presented to the condition of being registered to the challenge in the period ranging from 11 May to 16 June. As the Pépite network explains, projects submitted may present a non-technological innovation (service, social or usage) or a technological innovation (product, process, materials, organisation). Projects may also “stand out because of their originality, the creativity of their value proposition and their social and ecological commitment”. Projects must include the creation of the company on the French territory.

The jury organised by the Pépite network will first choose four laureates at local scale. Then, two national laureates will be chosen out of these four local laureates. For the 10^th: edition of the Pépite Prize, the two national finalists will be divided in two categories: the “Grand Prix Pépite France” and the “Prix Spécial du Jury” dedicated to ecological transition. Bpifrance grants awards to the four local laureates up to 2,000 euros per applicant, while the national laureate in each category will receive a prize from the ministry of 5,000 euros. Laureates will be invited to participate in a national awarding ceremony of the Prix Pépite on 9 November.

More information

• Register to the challenge
• The Pépite France mechanism and network
• The “étudiant-entrepreneur” status