Exciting funding opportunity for changemakers in circular economy: Apply Now for the Circular Business Awards (€10,000 in prizes awarded)

Ednah Carrick December 5, 2025

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Closing Date: 7 December 2025

Exciting funding opportunity for changemakers in circular economy: Apply Now for the Circular Business Awards (€10,000 in prizes awarded)

Calling all changemakers in circular economy!

The EU Circular Economy Resource Centre (EU CERC) is awarding €10,000 in prizes to celebrate innovators driving real impact across:

Policy implementation
Circular business
Young female entrepreneur

Do you think you, or someone in your network, could be this year’s winner? The deadline is approaching, so don’t wait

Business awards by the EU CERC

The annual Circular Business Awards by the EU CERC recognise and celebrate best practices in the circular economy as implemented and promoted by businesses.

About the award

The Circular Business Awards by the EU CERC are an annual recognition targeted at enterprises in countries eligible for ODA support (see list). The award is part of the annual Circular Awards by the EU CERC which also includes a separate Policy Implementation Award.

Each year, two circular business prizes will be awarded: one for a circular business in a specific sector and one for a young woman entrepreneur on any sector. In 2026, the sector will be Electronics & ICT.

The EU CERC will award these two annual prizes to a company and a person who are inspiring examples promoting circular business models. In both cases, the company must be micro-, small or medium size; based in an EU partner country; and active for at least three years. In addition to these, the young female entrepreneur prize is aimed at companies that are (co-)founded and still (co-)led by a young female entrepreneur who is currently not older than 35 years.

A jury nominated by the EU CERC will judge the participating initiatives based on a set of criteria. These include the type of circular business model and the reduction of resource use, along with aspects of innovation and links to the EU markets. The winners will be announced at the World Circular Economy Forum 2026. Both winners will be invited to participate in WCEF2026 to receive the award including tailored EU CERC exchange, coaching, visibility and promotion of a value of EUR 10,000.

The WCEF is a landmark event of the year that brings together business leaders, policymakers and experts to present the world’s best circular economy solutions. The 2026 event will take place in India in autumn 2026.

Complete list of eligible countries

The Policy Business Awards by the EU CERC are open to applications from the following ODA recipient countries: The country list above is based on OECD’s listing of ODA recipient countries, with some exceptions.

How to apply for the 2026 award?

You can apply through the application form. The application can be submitted in English, Spanish or French. Please note that all applications will be handled and evaluated in English (translated from Spanish or French, if necessary), and all official communications by EU CERC will be done in English.

By applying, you acknowledge that your information shall be processed in accordance with EU CERC’s Privacy Policy and you will receive information through the WCEF newsletter.

Key dates

Call for applications opens on Monday 3 November 2025.
The deadline for submitting applications is Sunday 7 December 2025 at 23:59 CET (UTC+1).
Jury evaluates the applications in January and February 2026.
Jury interviews the shortlisted candidates during March and April 2026.
Enabel informs the winners in May 2026.
Winners are announced at WCEF2026.

Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The applicants must meet several minimum criteria to be eligible and accept the terms and conditions of the award. The applications will be evaluated based on a set of criteria mentioned below. Please see also the full rules of the competition.

The two circular business awards target (i) a company active in one specific sector (different sector each year) and (ii) a company (co-)founded by a young female entrepreneur.

In 2026, the specific sector is Electronics & ICT.
The young woman entrepreneur must (a) have (co-)founded the circular business, (b) remain actively engaged in the strategic and operational direction of the business, and (c) currently not be older than 35 years.

For either of the awards, the applicant must meet the following technical requirements:

Business model: The company must implement a circular business model that is based on
- circular design, avoiding or reducing consumption before use;
- optimal use, extending the lifetime of products during use; or
- value recovery, recovery of product or recycling of materials.
Geography: The applicant must be registered in one of the ODA-recipient countries listed.
Applicant: The applicants must be a micro-, small- or medium-sized enterprise, according to the local classification in the applicant’s country of residence.
The company must have been operating for over three years.
The company should not be involved in any activity that is on Enabel’s list of Unauthorised Business Activities (weapons, child labour, asbestos, etc. – full list available in the application form under question 11).
The company should adhere to the Decent Work Principles of Enabel, aligned with the ILO.

Evaluation Criteria

EU CERC aims to identify companies that contribute to the circular economy, leading to a reduced need for resources, with inspiring business models that have good potential to be replicated and be linked to EU markets. EU CERC include in the assessment the aspects of innovation and gender equality.

The questionnaire will pose these seven questions, each time followed by an open question to further explain.

What circular business model is your company implementing?
- circular design, avoiding or reducing consumption before use,
- optimal use, extending the lifetime of products during use, or
- value recovery, recovering of product or recycling of materials
Is your company tracking its reduction of resource use?
Does your company have linkages with the European market (as supplier, off-taker or other)?
To what extent is your circular business replicable outside its initial market?
How innovative are your company’s technology, product or service, processes, or collaboration with partners?
How actively is your company promoting gender equality?
What percentage of women are in managerial positions in your company?

Based on the answers to these questions, the jury will make a shortlist of companies to be invited for online video or audio interviews. These interviews will be crucial for determining the winner in each category.