A €10m fund for young founders: Project Europe aims to back the next generation of innovators

Are you under the age of 25 and trying to build your own impact startup?

With the help of the newly launched Project Europe, you could soon get €200,000 in funding and one-on-one mentoring from some of the top entrepreneurs on the continent.

More than 125 European founders have joined together to create Project Europe, which is set to invest a total of €10m in promising tech companies by young entrepreneurs.

[split-article-here]

“It is time to change the narrative that Europe cannot build massive companies,” says Harry Stebbings, host of the popular podcast “The Twenty Minute VC” and one of the leading figures behind the new project. “Europe can and will build the most defining companies of our time.”

No experience necessary

Project Europe’s pitch is simple: It will invest €200,000 in startups in exchange for a 6.66 percent share of the company.

The only criteria is that the founder is under the age of 25, started the company in Europe, and is trying solve “hard problems with technical solutions.”

And don’t worry if you haven’t pitched to investors before.

“No prior education/funding necessary,” reads the manifesto on Project Europe’s website.

"A core pillar of Project Europe is to encourage the next generation to take greater risks and make entrepreneurship a worthwhile endeavour in Europe," the website says.

Prominent backers

Stebbings’ own venture capital fund 20VC is among the sponsors, as is German early-stage investor Point Nine and New York-based Adjacent.

Other backers include the the CEO’s of prominent startups like Elevenlabs, Buena and Spyke Games.

“I'm sick of Americans believing Europe can't build great companies anymore,” Buena CEO Din Bisevac writes on X. “Europe has incredible talent, plenty of capital and a number of exciting challenges to solve. I deeply believe the next generation of founders in Europe will transform this continent.”