Little Entrepreneurs with a Big Hearts 2026 – International Competition for Children Across Europe
Do you have an idea? Are you creating a product? Do you dream of having your own business one day and want to make the world around you a better place?
Show us!
We created this competition for children across Europe who do not have the opportunity to participate in a physical Kids Markets, but who want to create, develop their own business, and do something good for people and the world around them.
How to Participate
1. Record a vertical video of up to 60 seconds, in 1080 × 1920 px, and post it in our “Kids Markets – Little Entrepreneurs. Big Hearts. A Better World Tomorrow.” Facebook Group.
2. Submit your video by November 15, 2026.
3. To make your participation valid, you must register for the competition at kidsmarkets.org.
Participation is open to all children ages 5-18 from around the world.
Video Requirements
1. Duration
Maximum 60 seconds.
2. Format
Vertical video, 1080 × 1920 px. The video does not need to be professionally produced. You can record it with your phone in any European language.
3. Content
The important thing is to show us your idea, your product, and your desire to create something valuable for others.
Questions
Your video should present your idea and answer the following questions:
- What is your name and how old are you?
- What is your product? (Show it to the camera and tell us briefly about it.)
- How does your product help people?
- Where do you sell it? Or intend to sell it.
- What will you do with the money you earn?
- What would you like to become when you grow up?
- What is one thing you would like to change in the world or in Europe?
4. Product Requirements
To participate, your start-up capital must be a maximum of €20, and the price of your product must be a maximum of €5.
Your product could be, for example, a handmade toy, bracelet, book, or service. It is your choice — the important thing is that it provides value to people.
Every Participant Is a Winner
Every child who meets the competition requirements will receive the title and certificate “Little Entrepreneur with a Big Heart.”
Because having the courage to create something of your own and show it to the world is already the first step.
5 Special Awards
5 children will win an online course:
“Kids Business Bootcamp: Start Your Own Business in 6 Weeks Self-Paced” by Livingston Global Academy, available in English, at a value of €59.
The course will help them take the next step from an idea toward a real small business.
The Grand Winner will receive:
- An online course, “Kids Business Bootcamp: Start Your Own Business in 6 Weeks Self-Paced,” by Livingston Global Academy, available in English, valued at €59.
- €50 in start-up capital to bring their idea to life.
This is not simply a prize. It is a real first investment in a child’s business idea.
Why Are We Doing This?
We believe every child should have the opportunity to create, communicate, make decisions, dream of having their own business, and discover the entrepreneur within themselves.
But even more importantly, we want children to understand that business is not only about profit.
True value lies in what you create for others.
Let’s give children the courage to start.
Let’s give their ideas a chance.
Let’s show that success and doing good can grow together.
Our Mission
Our mission is to give every child the opportunity to discover the entrepreneur within themselves and understand that success is not measured only by how much you earn, but by your ability to create good products with people in mind and create value not only for yourself, but also for others.
The old idea that we can first accumulate enormous wealth and then simply give a portion of it to good causes — while receiving tax benefits in the process — is not enough to create a better world. It does not eliminate poverty. It does not make nature cleaner. It does not restore trust, strengthen communities, or rebuild the human connections that are so easily lost in a world driven by speed, scale, and technology.
Technology can make us more capable, but human values determine whether what we create will make the world a better place.
And when the pursuit of enormous wealth becomes the ultimate goal, something very important can be lost along the way. Too often, the price of excessive growth is paid through compromises in our values, the quality of what we create, people’s well-being, the health of our communities, or our moral conscience.
We believe there is another way.
We believe that success, responsibility, and conscience should grow together.
We want to build a new generation of entrepreneurs who build goodness into what they create from the very beginning. People who choose quality over shortcuts, people over exploitation, trust over manipulation, and long-term value over short-term profit.
Creating a product or service that is high-quality, provides value, and makes people happy — that is the essence of a value-driven business.
The goal of a good entrepreneur is not only profit, but also the impact created by a valuable product. People who solve real problems and create quality gain something more lasting than money: trust and credibility.
Through real, practical experience, we teach children to create with people in mind, communicate, take responsibility, make decisions, deal with rejection, and build trust.
Kids Markets develops the skills that are increasingly being left behind in today’s digital world: social skills.
Looking a customer in the eye. Explaining what you are selling. Hearing “no” and continuing. Smiling and building a connection. These are skills that no textbook can replace.
With every stall, presentation, and sale, children learn to think big, work hard, and believe in their ideas.
Little Entrepreneurs. Big Hearts. A Better World Tomorrow.