This program is designed to assist youth in exploring the field of social entrepreneurship and initiating their own social enterprises. Since its inception in 2009, the initiative has supported young social entrepreneurs across more than 25 countries, providing the necessary tools and resources to foster the development of social ventures.
Program Components
• Events & Workshops: Participants can explore the world of social entrepreneurship through events and workshops designed to provide the tools needed to learn about the field and start a social venture.
• Incubation: An incubation program helps applicants take their ideas to the next level by providing the resources needed to turn an idea into a successful venture.
• Social Impact Award: The most promising ventures win an internationally recognized award that provides exposure, partnership opportunities, and pre-seed funding.
Incubation Program Benefits
Successful applicants gain access to a wide range of opportunities. Because places in the incubation are limited, an expert jury selects the most promising ideas based on impact potential, degree of innovation, feasibility, and team capacity.
• Mentorship and Support: Guidance is provided in validating business and impact models, prototyping ideas, and creating first followers and customers.
• Award Opportunity: Participants have a chance to win the Social Impact Award, which includes funding, recognition, and a ticket to the annual SIA Summit.
• Global Community Access: Participants are connected with an international alumni community of more than 1,000 social entrepreneurs from over 25 countries.
Selection Process
• Eligibility Check: The local SIA team reviews all applications to make sure they fit the formal eligibility criteria.
• Jury Selection: A jury made up of experts from the private, public, and plural sector assesses applications based on the evaluation criteria.
• Finalists Announcement: The local team announces the finalists who will attend the incubation at a dedicated event.
• Application Feedback: All applicants are given the opportunity to receive feedback on their application.
Eligibility Criteria
To support youth taking their first steps in social entrepreneurship, applicants must meet the following criteria:
• Age Requirement: All members of the core applicant team must be legally between 14 and 30 years of age.
• Project Stage: The program welcomes both ideas that have not yet been implemented and ideas in the early phase of implementation. Projects in early implementation are only eligible if they were founded after January 1st last year.
• Funding Status: Applicant projects must not have received significant formal start-up funding by the time the application is submitted. This is defined as formal grants from external sources exceeding €6,000, such as angel investment, grants, or prize money.
• Prior Participation: Applicants must not have participated in the SIA incubation with the same idea before, nor have won the Social Impact Award in previous years.
SIA India Application Timeline
• Applications Open: 25 March 2026. The application period for the local incubation opens.
• Applications Close: 25 May 2026. The deadline to apply is reached, and the expert jury begins reviewing applications.
• Finalists Announcement: 26 June 2026. The ventures selected to participate in the incubation are announced during a dedicated event that is open to all.
• Feedback: 26 June 2026. All applicants are eligible to receive feedback from the expert jury to support the further development of their ventures.
This incubation program is designed to help young social entrepreneurs turn their ideas into fully fledged ventures by providing resources, support, and access to a broader international community. Interested applicants can review the program details and prepare their applications through the official SIA India pages.