Apps for Europe - turning Data into Business will create a thematic network to organise competitions for using open data, stimulate the winners to start business ventures, and maximise the socio-economic impact and overall benefits of open data. It will contribute to the open data policy of the Commission and stimulate the reuse of public sector information from governmental, scientific and cultural sources. It brings together 19 partners from ten countries that have a background in hosting and facilitating open data competitions, providing data and supporting business ventures. Together, we will build on and align 20 existing local and national open data competitions held over the next two years by the partners and stimulate the participants to turn their inventions into viable businesses.The project will develop a new, transferable and tested programme, that will increase the business knowledge and potential for success of participants in open data competitions: the Business Lounge. The Business Lounge educates developers in creating and commercialising apps with market potential.Participants enter their prototype app, including a business model into an annual EU Open Data Competition. We will organise two such pan-European competitions, that bring the best of the local and national competitions into a European limelight and introduce them to a business network that will increase their potential. The categories of this EU open data competition are: Government, Science and Culture. The best local and EU contestants are invited to pitch their plans during a Pitch & Prize event for investors, incubators, international companies, entrepreneurial nonprofits and social investors.Additionally, the project spawns five support actions on themes that are identified as key areas of importance to organising successful open data competitions: Business and Policy; Data and Licensing; Media exposure for start-ups; Technical tooling and Community Building.