5th Laurence Trân Arctic Futures Award Call for Applications Launched
We've officially launched the call for applications for the 5th Laurence Trân Arctic Futures Award. All young entrepreneurs based in the Arctic are invited to apply!
The winner will be announced at this year's Arctic Futures Symposium in Brussels in early December.
Established to support the growth of innovative Arctic businesses, the €7,500 award has recognised promising young entrepreneurs since 2022 whose startups are legally based in the Arctic.
The winning startup will be honoured at the annual Arctic Futures Symposium in Brussels this December, where they will present their venture and take part in a panel discussion relevant to their business.
“The Laurence Trân Arctic Futures Award is an opportunity not only to receive funding for your startup, but also to gain valuable international visibility for your work,” said Joseph Cheek, who has managed the award’s secretariat and international jury at the International Polar Foundation since 2022.
The winner will also gain access to the foundation’s extensive professional network.
Eligibility and selection
Applicants must have their startup legally based in an Arctic region, and the founder(s) must be 35 years old or younger on the application deadline (25 September 2026).
An expert jury specialising in Arctic entrepreneurship and startup development will select the winner based on the criteria outlined on the Arctic Futures Symposium website, including:
- How environmentally sustainable the business is
- To what extent the business helps the Arctic community where it is based and the broader Arctic (social sustainability)
- How innovative the business idea or model is
- How mature the business is (scalability potential, cross-border expansion)
- To what extent the Laurance Trân Arctic Futures Award will help the business
More information can be found on the dedicated page on this website.
Previous winners include:
- 2022: Containing Greens
- 2023: Gobmi
- 2024: Siu-Tsiu
- 2025: Marine Spark X
You could be the next winner, so apply today!
If you have any questions at all about applying for the award, please contact the International Polar Foundation at events@polarfoundation.org and write “Laurence Trân Arctic Futures Award 2026” in the subject line of your email.
The deadline to send us your applications is Friday, September 25th, 2026 at 11:59 PM Hawaii–Aleutian Time.
We look forward to discovering the interesting entrepreneurial projects young people are working on in the Arctic!
This initiative is made possible by the Trân Family Foundation and administered by the International Polar Foundation.