The Celebration of Innovation (COI) is a nation-wide competition of entrepreneurs and is the flagship program of Palestine for a New Beginning (PNB), a Palestinian non-profit company that aims to support entrepreneurship towards further job creation and economic development. 

This year, the COI will focus on identifying/supporting new business ideas in the following sectors:

• Agriculture/Agribusiness
• Tourism
• ICT
• Green/Sustainable Energy
• Education

Who can apply?

• The majority of the team must be citizens of Palestine (West Bank, Gaza or East Jerusalem)
• The majority of the team must be between 18 and 35 years old
• Teams applying must be at the idea or start-up stage (start-up means no more than 2 years in business)

The COI will provide finalist teams with an opportunity to present their business ideas in front of the major business leaders of Palestine, as well as business leaders from the region and the globe. 

Additionally, the winners of the COI are pre-qualified for seed funding in the form of a “soft” loan: an interest-free loan of up to USD $20,000, with a term not to exceed seven years (including a one-year grace period) from the Bank of Palestine.

Winners will also receive coaching and support to develop their businesses for a period of at least one year. Applications are due no later than September 12^th at 5pm. To learn more, check out their website here.