UG NEŠTO VIŠE is proud to share the Open Call for RISE ALUMNI Awards, again! Building a strong community of young social entrepreneurs in the Western Balkans is our direction and we call all previous RISErs alumnus (RISE Generation from 3rd and 4th Journey from Open Call of 2022-2023 and 2023-2024), expect RISE 5 Journey teams who are currently in the incubation phase.
- ABOUT THE RISE ALUMNI AWARDS
RISE is not just a program for social entrepreneurs; it is a community of young social innovators and leaders changing the region with their ideas and actions. In the previous three RISE Journeys, RISE has supported many young people from every corner of the Western Balkans. We are delighted to witness their growth and impact, and we stay committed to our mission to strengthen this community.
For this reason, the RISE project is launching the RISE alumni awards. The RISE alumni awards symbolize the strong belief and hope that the RISE partners place in its young social entrepreneurs. These awards are not only a recognition of RISErs’ achievements but also a means to offer further support. They are intended for motivated alumni, who continued with their journey in the social entrepreneurship world, and who want to grow, scale, and enlarge their impact. And who are RISE alumni? RISE teams that have successfully completed the ideation phase of one of the RISE Journeys (RISE Generation from 3rd and 4th Journey). The awards will grant two (2) RISE alumni teams an additional €5,000 for further development of their ideas/social enterprises.
- WHO CAN APPLY?
- Be a RISE alumnus (RISE Generation from 3rd and 4th Journey from Open Call of 2022-2023 and 2023-2024), expect RISE 5 Journey teams who are currently in the incubation phase.
- Apply with the same idea/social enterprise as in the RISE Journey (new ideas/social enterprises are not supported. Priority will be given to the ideas with a stronger regional component).
- Have already developed at least a prototype of their product or service.
- Have a continuous activity since completing the RISE Journey (economic – sales or non-economic – participation in other incubation or acceleration programs, training, conferences, media presence, etc. This refers to active Alumni members).
- Have a strong ambition and detailed plan for the development of their social enterprise/idea and expenditure of the RISE Alumni Award.
- Have a good command of the English language (at least the person who will pitch in front of the jury).
- Be available to participate online in the pitching session at the RISE 6 Local events in front of the local jury and central jury . Advantage will be given to ideas in an advanced stage or already registered entities or secured further funding and ideas that have proof of concept.
Here are the steps for the process:
- All interested teams need to submit their applications by filling out the following Application Form by the 6th of July, 23.59h.
RISE activities are being implemented by 6 organizations of the Western Balkans region: Organization for Social Innovation “ARNO” Balkan Green Foundation UG Nešto Više Smart Kolektiv Innovation and entrepreneurship center Tehnopolis Yunus Social Business Balkans.
RISE – Regional Incubator for Social Entrepreneurs project is supported by Agence Française de Développement hashtag#europeanunion and Regional Youth Cooperation Office – RYCO OFAJ/DFJW PULSE GROUP (GROUPE SOS) and PULSE Balkans.
