A 15-year-old British entrepreneur has been named 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.
On November 14th, CoCreate Europe brought together thousands of SMEs from across the continent. 30 finalists were shortlisted to present 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 honor.
After what the judges described as a “fantastic pitch” and “brilliant product”, Harrison Nott from Essex was named Grand Winner for its CoolTowel, a reusable cooling towel that provides instant relief during exercise, hot weather, travel and outdoor activities.
Despite his age, Harrison has already built an impressive business: CoolTowel has an annual turnover of £200,000, and his entrepreneurial journey – documented on social media – has attracted more than 50,000 followers and millions of views. He credits his parents’ early encouragement and support for his passion for the business.
In addition to the main winner, 10 other finalists were highly commended, each receiving $20,000 for their innovations. These were:
• UK: Nutri Troops, Intotum, SKIN
• France: Azza Fencing, Opack, Portalo
• Germany: TRAINOM, RAZECO, Gyarados swimwear
• Italy: Reeflex
This year saw the first European edition of CoCreate Pitch. Alibaba.com reported an exceptionally high quality of submissions, with UK SMEs standing out for their commitment to sustainability: 18% of UK submissions included environmental concepts, surpassing France, Italy and Germany.
Together, CoCreate Pitch Europe and CoCreate Pitch Vegas have now awarded $1 million in global prize funding, bringing together more than 4,000 SMEs across the two events. The program reflects Alibaba.com’s focus on accelerating SME growth, helping companies adopt AI-driven sourcing tools and unlocking new international opportunities.
After his win, Harrison said, “I’m speechless. I worked so hard to get here and didn’t expect to win. I couldn’t be more grateful to Alibaba.com for this opportunity.”
Kuo Zhang, President of Alibaba.com, praised the quality of the entries: “CoCreate Europe celebrated the best product innovations from SMEs. The creativity and fresh thinking on display was inspiring and we have a unique winner in Harrison Nott and CoolTowel.”
“At Alibaba.com, we are committed to helping SMEs realize their growth ambitions by democratizing AI tools and digital procurement.”
