European Small and Mid-Caps Innovation Awards

About the Awards

The European Small & Mid-Cap Innovation Awards celebrate Europe’s most innovative listed SMEs and mid-cap companies.

Organised by the Federation of European Securities Exchanges (FESE), the Awards recognise companies that have successfully accessed public capital markets through an Initial Public Offering (IPO) and leveraged their listing to drive innovation, growth and expand internationally.

SMEs are the backbone of the European economy. Representing over 98% of all European business, SMEs generate two-thirds of all employment and contribute nearly 60% of the EU’s gross value added. As key drivers of entrepreneurship, innovation and economic growth, SMEs require access to financing that can support their long-term development and ambitions.

By showcasing outstanding listed companies from across Europe, the Awards highlight the role of public equity markets in helping innovative businesses raise capital, scale and strengthen Europe’s competitiveness. They also showcase the diversity of European capital markets and support the EU’s broader efforts to foster innovation, investment and long-term economic growth.

Background

The European Small & Mid-Cap Innovation Awards build on the legacy of the European Small & Mid-Cap Awards, launched in 2013. For more than a decade, the Awards have recognised some of Europe’s most dynamic listed growth companies and showcased the diversity and strength of European capital markets. Since their launch, more than 150 shortlisted companies and over 50 category winners have been recognised across Europe.

Application procedure

Eligibility criteria

Who can take part in the ‘European Small and Mid-Cap Innovation Awards’ Competition?

Companies that meet the definition of small or mid-cap with a market capitalisation of at most €1 billion at the date of Initial Public Offering (IPO);
Companies nominated by a participating stock exchange within the EU 27 Member States and
Companies that were publicly listed on a Regulated Market or MTF operated by one of the participating exchanges between 01/08/2024 and 31/07/2026. In exceptional cases, companies that have been listed for longer may be considered where they have undergone a significant transformation, demonstrating a new growth trajectory and innovation profile comparable to that of a recent IPO.
Companies should demonstrate:
- a minimum free float of 10%, in line with the requirements introduced under the EU Listing Act and reflected in Article 51a(4) MiFID II.
- trading activity on at least one-third of trading sessions between its admission to trading and 30/09/2026.

These calculations will be based on verifiable exchange data from a recognized source within the EU 27 Member States / participating stock exchanges. Dual listing is allowed if it involves fundraising.

Companies that have not won the first place in any of the categories in the Small and Mid-Cap Awards 2025. To the extent possible, exchanges are encouraged to put forward companies that have not been shortlisted before; however, having been short-listed (without having won the first place) does not disqualify a company from being nominated again.

How to apply?

Nominations must come from a participating stock exchange within the EU-27 Member States. The application forms (available below) and supporting documents must be sent to the FESE secretariat at info@fese.eu by Friday, 4th December 2026. Please consult the Terms of Reference for all details on selection and eligibility criteria.

Download the applications forms:

Awards ceremony

The winners of the European Small & Mid-Cap Innovation Awards will be announced at a ceremony held on 22nd June in Brussels, the evening before the FESE Convention 2027.

The Jury

The shortlist and eventual winners for each Awards category are selected by an independent jury, set up by the European Commission, and composed of a cross-section of European experts.

Detlef Fechtner is Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Börsen-Zeitung. He studied politics, economics and history in Frankfurt and Brussels, and worked at the Center for North American Studies in Frankfurt. His academic background includes research stays in South Africa, Ukraine and the United States, including at Cornell and Harvard. Fechtner began his journalism career at the news agency vwd, now Dow Jones Germany, before joining Frankfurter Rundschau’s business section, where he later became Deputy Head of Department. He was appointed the newspaper’s Brussels correspondent in 2005, then moved to the Brussels office of the WAZ Group. Since 2010, he has been Europe Correspondent for Börsen-Zeitung.

Eglė Fredriksson has been a Portfolio Manager at East Capital since 2004. A Lithuanian national, she studied finance and economics at the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga and Stockholm. She focuses on investment management for Eastern European fund products and mandates, with a strong emphasis on ESG engagement with portfolio companies across Central Europe and the Baltics East Capital is an independent asset manager founded in 1997, specialising in emerging and frontier markets. The firm follows an active, responsible investment approach, integrating ESG principles through regular engagement with portfolio companies and proprietary ESG scorecards to support long-term returns.

Ekaterina Gianelli is a Partner at Nordic venture capital firm Inventure. An operator-turned-investor, she works closely with founders and focuses on seed and early-stage investments across sectors including consumer businesses, digital health, femtech, the future of food, and circular or conscious consumption. Before joining Inventure, Gianelli helped scale Fjord from a small consultancy into a global design and innovation firm, later acquired by Accenture Interactive in 2013. She also gained hands-on product and sales experience at advertising technology startup Kiosked.

Martin Hock is Finance Editor at Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (F.A.Z.) in Frankfurt. He studied economics in Mainz, where he also worked as a research assistant, and completed a doctoral thesis on the political dynamics behind Hungary’s economic transformation from 1968 to 1996. In 1997, he joined the editorial team of the finance TV programme ‘3satBörse’. He later worked for ‘DIE TELEBÖRSE’ and ‘DM’, later rebranded as Euro, serving as deputy head of the online edition. Since 2005, he has worked in the finance section of FAZ.NET, specialising in investments in small and medium-sized companies.

Phaedon-Theodore D. Tamvakakis co-founded Alpha Trust Mutual Fund and Alternative Investment Fund Management S.A. in 1987 and currently serves as Chairman. He began his career in 1985 at Unilever Greece as Product Manager, before serving as Managing Director at Hambros Hellenic Mutual Fund S.A. and Orion International Investment Trust S.A. Tamvakakis is a Board member of the Hellenic Authors’ Society and holds several non-executive roles in corporations and charities. He holds a BA in Economics and English from the American College of Greece and an MA in Investment and Finance from the University of Exeter.

Contact

For more information, please send an email to info@fese.eu.