LIPIGO from Slovakia has been named the JA Europe Company of the Year 2026, impressing the jury with its product: a child-safe adhesive made from food-grade ingredients. The glue is completely harmless to health if accidentally swallowed by a child and can be easily washed off with water, offering a sustainable alternative for schools and families.
Last week, Latvia hosted 59 of the strongest school and university start-ups from 39 countries for the first time at Europe’s largest youth entrepreneurship festival, GEN-E. Over several days, participants competed for Europe’s top entrepreneurship titles and presented their business ideas to an international jury. This year’s event was organised by the educational organisation Junior Achievement Latvia in cooperation with Junior Achievement Europe.
In the university start-up category, VERDIAX from the Netherlands was named the JA Europe Start-Up of the Year 2026. The team has developed biodegradable and environmentally friendly absorbent materials for funeral care industry, replacing the plastic products traditionally used for this purpose.
The competition also featured the presentation of the JA Europe Innovation of the Year 2026 Award. In the upper-secondary school category, the title was won by MOORE UB from Norway, which developed a technology for reading data from ship ropes. In the university category, the award went to LIVIA from Cyprus for its artificial intelligence and satellite-data platform designed to monitor agricultural crops and harvests.
Latvia was represented at this year’s festival by the school enterprise HEATIFY from Daugavpils Secondary School of Sciences, which presented an innovative crypto-heating boiler. The system efficiently utilises the heat generated during cryptocurrency mining to heat buildings. The solution is designed for both private homeowners and small businesses, offering a sustainable alternative to traditional heating methods.
At the same time, GEN-E 2026 provided an opportunity for hundreds of international visitors to discover Latvia. Participants and delegations visited Riga, explored the country’s culture, history and business environment, and helped strengthen Latvia’s profile as an attractive destination for tourism, investment and international conferences.
During the festival, Latvia was also visited by a delegation from the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), which, together with the Latvian Patent Office, took part in a range of activities and met with representatives from various sectors. On the first day of the visit, discussions were held with the Latvian Influencer Marketing Association, the Latvian Design Centre, the Latvian Performers’ and Producers’ Association, and representatives of the Ministry of Culture.
EUIPO representatives actively contributed to the GEN-E 2026 programme. During the teachers’ conference, they delivered a presentation on intellectual property issues. At the opening ceremony, the EUIPO Youth IP Awareness Award was presented to UNISON, a student company from Malta. EUIPO experts also served on the jury of the Get in the Ring business idea competition. Together with representatives of the Latvian Patent Office, they took part in networking events and the exhibition area, where interactive activities were used to raise young people’s awareness of intellectual property and its importance in entrepreneurship. During the visit, EUIPO representatives also gave an interview to IR Nauda magazine, discussing current intellectual property issues and EUIPO activities across the European Union.
The participation of the Latvian Patent Office in the event was supported by the EUIPO.