This evening (May 30th, 2022) at 19.30 CET, the Grand Final of the annual Philips Innovation Award will be live-streamed, with eight finalists keen on furthering their start-up companies, or turning their innovative idea into a new start-up. You can watch live, here. The Philips Innovation Award has two leagues: The Innovator League, for more mature start-ups, competing for a prize worth EUR 50,000; and the Rough Diamond League, for startups established after the 1st of October 2021, competing for a prize worth EUR 10,000. Both prizes will be presented to the winning teams at the end of the evening by Philips CEO Frans van Houten.
Meaningful innovation and entrepreneurship have been guiding Philips throughout its more than 130-year history. The aim of the awards is to foster entrepreneurship among students and encourage the leaders and entrepreneurs of tomorrow to take their first steps in starting businesses that will contribute to a better future for themselves and for society – as past participants have done.
In their journey to the final, all the participants in this year’s Philips Innovation Award have benefitted from that long tradition of entrepreneurship and innovation, in the form of expert feedback, workshops and dedicated training from Philips professionals to help them hone their ideas and create a compelling business case.
“The Philips Innovation Award provides young entrepreneurs with an opportunity not just to learn but also to engage with a group of like-minded people who are prepared to push the boundaries of what’s possible.
Frans van Houten
Philips CEO
“We need young entrepreneurs for their new ideas and the innovations they create to help build a sustainable future,” said Philips CEO Frans van Houten. “The Philips Innovation Award provides young entrepreneurs with an opportunity not just to learn but also to engage with a group of like-minded people who are prepared to push the boundaries of what’s possible. We look forward to an exciting final of the Philips Innovation Award 2022!”
Each of the finalists will have 3 minutes to pitch their idea and business case, after which they will answer questions from a panel of judges. During the live event, their pitches will be evaluated by the judges and industry experts, interspersed by roundtable discussions on entrepreneurship, innovation and diversity in the Dutch start-up ecosystem. These table discussions with leading figures from the Dutch entrepreneurial field will be led by TV and radio presenter Humberto Tan.
This year’s participants include established and emerging start-ups in the technology, healthcare, consumer, sustainability, and energy domains.
Click the link to watch the finals and presentation of the award by Frans van Houten on the Philips Innovation Award website on May 30, 2022, at 19.30 CET.