FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) and the world’s largest courier company, today announces the launch of the small business grant competition in Europe. In the framework of the competition, money prizes of a total value of approximately 250,000 euros will be awarded to European small businesses, that will help them grow and achieve their next goals. For the first time, the competition will be held at a pan-European level and will aim at small businesses based in 16 different countries.
Small profit-making enterprises with up to 50 employees in the following European countries can take part in the competition: Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Denmark, Greece, United Kingdom, Ireland, Spain, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, Holland, Poland, Portugal and the Czech Republic.
Fifteen candidates will be selected for the final phase, who will compete for the grand prize (50.000 euros) or for one of the three judges’ selection awards: Digital Excellence, Innovation Mastermind and Sustainability Champion (15.000 euros each). In addition to the finalists who will compete for one of the four jury prizes the companies that will not qualify for the final phase will take part in the public voting phase, where they will claim the award for the selection of the public in their country. This means that there will be 15 additional winners that will receive 10,000 euros each.
Running a small business is difficult even in the best of times, but in the last 18 months small and medium-sized enterprises have really had to try hard to adapt to the new conditions and survive,” said Helena Jansson, SVP Finance International, FedEx Express, and a member of the competition jury. “Through the Small Business Grant, we want to support small businesses and help them realize their dreams and write the new chapter of their history.”
In order to participate in the contest, companies do not need to be currently customers or have an active shipping account with FedEx Express. The registration period for the competition will run from 15 September to 20 October 2021. The 15 candidates for the final phase will be announced on November 17, 2021.All winners will be announced on January 26, 2022. For the registration process, terms and conditions, you can visit www.fedex.com/grant.
Since it was first held in the USA in 2012, FedEx’s Small Business Grant – “Small Business Grant” competition continues to expand every year around the world. In Europe, the competition was first held in 2016 in three countries, that became five in 2019. Now, for the first time, 16 countries across Europe will take part in order to give more opportunities to the small businesses in our region that are passionately committed to their goals and innovate.
