EIB Social Innovation Tournament 2023 Now Open

Annual competition recognising and supporting the best European impact entrepreneurs.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) Institute’s annual Social Innovation Tournament recognises and supports the best European impact entrepreneurs. It promotes innovative ideas and rewards initiatives that contribute to creating social, ethical and/or environmental impact. Typically, it covers projects in the areas of education, healthcare, the environment, circular economy, climate change, sustainable cities, blue and green economy, inclusion, job creation, ageing and many more.

The Tournament is open to individuals or teams from (or residing in) European Union Member States, Candidate and Potential Candidate countries, and EFTA countries whose proposals are to be implemented in at least one of these countries. Proposals are invited from both not-for-profit and for-profit organisations, mainly from young entrepreneurs and social enterprises, corporate responsibility departments of private sector companies of any size, NGOs and government or local government entities and university communities.

Submissions can be at different stages of the project cycle. Proposals can be innovative ideas which could be implemented within a reasonable time frame and have substantial benefits for society, or already implemented innovative solutions with tangible outcomes in terms of societal impact which could serve as best practices and replicable models. All submissions must commit to using potential awards for the purpose of their proposal.

The Tournament runs in two rounds, with up to 15 finalists selected to proceed to the second round. The finalists will be invited to present their proposals at a Deep Dive Pitches event and Spark Moments event (to be held in Stockholm, Sweden on 27-28 September 2023) where the winners will be selected and prizes awarded.

Winning projects in the General Category and the Special Category will be awarded a first or second prize of €100,000 and €40,000 respectively. In 2023, the Special Category prizes will go to projects focusing on sustainable cities and communities.

Proposals can be submitted until 23 February 2023 (23:59 CET).

(This report was the subject of a RESEARCHconnect Newsflash.)