15-year-old Harrison Nott named Grand Winner of Alibaba.com's CoCreate Pitch, taking home $200,000 prize

"A 15-year-old British entrepreneur has been crowned the Grand Winner of Alibaba.com's CoCreate Pitch, securing a $200,000 prize for his innovative small business, CoolTowel, at the platform's flagship B2B event in London. Held on 14 November, CoCreate Europe brought together thousands of SMEs from across the continent, with 30 finalists shortlisted to pitch their product innovations to a panel of global business leaders. Each finalist was tasked with delivering a 90-second pitch to win the competition's top accolade."

"Following what judges described as a "fantastic pitch" and a "brilliant product", Harrison Nott, from Essex, was named Grand Winner for his CoolTowel, a reusable cooling towel designed to provide instant relief during workouts, hot weather, travel and outdoor activities. Despite his age, Harrison has already built an impressive enterprise: CoolTowel generates £200,000 in annual turnover, and his entrepreneurial journey - documented on social media - has attracted more than 50,000 followers and millions of views."

"Alongside the Grand Winner, 10 additional finalists were highly commended, each receiving $20,000 in prizes for their innovations. These were: * UK: Nutri Troops, Intotum, HUID * France: Azza Fencing, Opack, Portalo * Germany: TRAINOM, RAZECO, Garados Swimwear * Italy: Reeflex This year marked the inaugural European edition of CoCreate Pitch. Alibaba.com reported an exceptionally high quality of entries, with British SMEs standing out for their commitment to sustainability: 18% of UK submissions featured environmental concepts, outperforming France, Italy and Germany."

Alibaba.com's CoCreate Pitch Europe took place on 14 November in London, featuring 30 shortlisted finalists from thousands of SME entrants across Europe. A 15-year-old entrepreneur, Harrison Nott from Essex, won the Grand Prize of $200,000 for CoolTowel, a reusable cooling towel that provides instant relief during workouts, hot weather, travel and outdoor activities. Judges praised the pitch and product. CoolTowel generates £200,000 in annual turnover and has amassed more than 50,000 social media followers and millions of views. Ten additional finalists received $20,000 each. The inaugural European edition noted strong sustainability submissions from UK SMEs, and the programme has now awarded $1 million globally.

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