The Bulgarian winner of the competition for the "Empower" Award stands to win BGN 100 000. The competition, announced on Monday, will open in January 2010.

The Bulgarian Ministry of Economy, Energy and Tourism is backing this annual initiative of Empower United, a Bulgarian not-for-profit organization with the mission to help empower Bulgarian citizens and Bulgarian companies to realize their full potential.

The upper age limit for the head of any participating team is 35 years. The competition is open to those entrepreneurs who have ideas for new business start-ups or companies that started not more than one year ago.

The first prize, according to the Ministry, represents an amount that is a solid basis for developing a good idea into a successful business. Moreover, the winners will have the opportunity to benefit from practical advice from experienced professionals.

The application procedure will be announced in late January 2010. All entrepreneurs who want to participate in the competition will be able to download the application from the website of Empower United. The submission deadline is June 2010.

Business plans will undergo three rounds of evaluation by a panel of successful entrepreneurs and professionals. There will be prizes for those winning second and third place, in addition to a "green" prize.

Additionally, from January to May 2010, all those who wish to learn about entrepreneurship can participate in the open monthly training seminars, with business leaders and experts as lecturers.

"As an institution that is responsible for developing the business environment and supports the realization of young people in business, my Ministry is seriously interested in the ideas for a sustainable development program that would become a global model for funding of innovative ideas," Traicho Traikov wrote in a formal letter for the presentation.

Thomas Higgins, chairman of the Empower United foundation, defined the promotion of entrepreneurial and business way of thinking, as well as stimulation of the development of the economy, as the primary goal of the competition.

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