Funding

Grant

Entrepreneurship•Remote

PRIMA Young Innovators Award 2026

PRIMA Foundation (Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area)

Application Deadline

Closed · May 28, 2026

Reopens ~May 2027

Official Page

The PRIMA Young Innovators Award 2026 is a recognition prize for young people from the Southern Mediterranean who have led or substantially shaped an innovation in sustainable agriculture, resilient food systems, water management or the responsible use of natural resources. It is run by the PRIMA Foundation, a Barcelona-based partnership created under Article 185 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and funded jointly by the European Union and its twenty participating states. Two equal prizes of EUR 10,000 go to the two highest-ranked eligible applications.

The prize rewards work the applicant has already led, and the innovation itself must sit inside a PRIMA participating state, so nobody relocates and the whole application is filed online. An independent expert panel scores the entries, a jury picks the winners in October 2026, and the results are presented at a ceremony in the final quarter of 2026.

The 2026 round closed on 28 May 2026. PRIMA has awarded a prize in every year since 2021, so a further edition is expected.

Benefits & funding

  • Two equivalent prizes of EUR 10,000 each, a total prize budget of EUR 20,000.
  • The two prizes rank equally. There is no first or second place, no category split, and a prize cannot be divided between applications or reassigned.
  • The winners are announced at a PRIMA ceremony in the last quarter of 2026 and are given visibility through PRIMA’s media channels.

Eligibility

  • Natural persons aged between 18 and 35 years at the submission deadline.
  • Nationals and residents of one of the PRIMA participating states bordering the Mediterranean Sea: Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia or Türkiye. Algeria is still negotiating its PRIMA participation, while Morocco’s participation remains subject to the relevant international agreements entering into force.
  • Applications may be submitted individually or jointly by a group, and every member of a group must meet the same conditions.
  • Organisations and legal entities cannot apply, and nobody may apply on behalf of one.
  • The proposed solution must have been conceived, developed and/or implemented within a PRIMA participating state, with implementation in at least one Mediterranean country.
  • PRIMA employees and members of PRIMA governance or advisory bodies are excluded, as is anyone who has already received an EU or Euratom prize for the same activity.
  • The published conditions set no degree requirement and no minimum years of work experience.
  • PRIMA states that it pays particular attention to women innovators. This is a focus of the award rather than a condition of entry.

Can you apply?

Here's who can apply

Decoded from the official rules. A free account checks them against your passport, degree and age in seconds.

  • Eligible nationalities

    Algeria · Egypt · Israel · Jordan · Lebanon · Morocco · Tunisia · Türkiye

  • Residence required

    Algeria · Egypt · Israel · Jordan · Lebanon · Morocco · Tunisia · Türkiye

  • Age requirement

    18–35 yrs

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Application process

  1. 1
    Check the two hard gates first: age 18 to 35 on the deadline, and nationality plus residence in one of the eight Southern Mediterranean participating states.
  2. 2
    Download the Rules of Contest 2026, the Part I administrative template, the Part II technical application template and the electronic submission system handbook from PRIMA’s documents page.
  3. 3
    Prepare Part II around the four award criteria: the innovator’s own leading role and creative contribution, the relevance of the solution to Mediterranean challenges, the environmental, economic and social impact achieved or expected, and the potential for growth, replication and youth empowerment.
  4. 4
    Register on the electronic submission system hosted by the French national research agency at aap.agencerecherche.fr and open a submission for the award.
  5. 5
    Upload Part I and Part II and submit before the deadline, 13.00 CET.
  6. 6
    Wait for the evaluation. An independent panel of experts scores eligible applications, the jury selects the winners in October 2026, and the prizes are presented at a ceremony in the last quarter of 2026.

Program timeline

  1. Applications open, 13.00 CET

    20 March 2026

  2. Application deadline, 13.00 CET

    28 May 2026

  3. Jury selects the winners

    October 2026

  4. Award ceremony and announcement of the winners

    Last quarter of 2026

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