What Social Impact Award does

Social Impact Award (SIA) is a Vienna-headquartered non-profit organization (SIA Social Impact Award gemeinnützige GmbH) founded in 2009 that runs social entrepreneurship incubation and education programs for youth aged 15-30. The organization operates an innovative licensing model in which like-minded local hosts — including Impact Hubs, universities, and NGOs — run SIA programs in their own countries, enabling the program to reach 29 countries and 47 cities without proportionate central cost growth. Its core offerings include workshops, mentorship, a year-long incubation cycle, awards, the 'Spark' monthly newsletter, and 'The Impact Blueprint' (a 10-part video guide and 7-day challenge for purpose-driven careers). Programs are delivered free to youth participants; the organization is funded through financial partnerships with foundations, corporations, and public institutions including the European Union, SAP, Erste Stiftung, and the Visegrad Fund.

SIA's product surface is built around human-facilitated programs rather than proprietary technology: the underlying platform comprises a content marketing engine (blog, newsletter, video series), event infrastructure (workshops, summits), and a multi-stakeholder network (30,000+ alumni, 1,000+ partner organizations, mentors, and host institutions). The organization's main institutional commitments include the ESESII consortium for social enterprise internationalization (with Euclid Network, WU Vienna, Leipzig University, Synthesis, and MateraHub), and cross-border learning programs such as Visegrad-Plus bridging Western Balkans and Visegrad countries. The leadership team is led by co-Managing Directors Jonas Dinger and Ana Janošev, who took over from Jakob Detering in 2022.

The business model is grant-funded and partnership-funded rather than revenue-generating from participants. SIA operates two partnership tracks — one-time financial partnerships tied to specific services and long-term co-creation partnerships where funders contribute networks and expertise. SIA has no public listing, no parent company, no disclosed funding rounds, and no disclosed revenue figures. Its primary economic value is measured in programmatic outcomes (incubated ventures, alumni retained, workshop attendees) rather than commercial metrics.

Name

Social Impact Award

Legal name

SIA Social Impact Award gemeinnützige GmbH

Website

https://sia.click

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Social Impact Award (SIA) is a Vienna-based non-profit founded in 2009 that runs social entrepreneurship incubation, mentorship, and education programs for youth across 29 countries via a licensing model with local host organizations, funded by foundations, corporations, and public institutions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Social Entrepreneurship Education & Incubation

NAICS

Educational Services (611), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813), Civic and Social Organizations (813410)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Youth Business Incubators & Accelerators (EDAMAHAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Youth Mentoring & Positive Youth Development Nonprofits (BPAGADAD), Social Entrepreneurship & Impact Business (EDAMAHAK), Community Development & Social Impact Programs (EDAIAGAA), Impact Investment & Social Finance Programs (BPADAOAJ)

Keywords

• Social entrepreneurship education
• Youth incubation programs
• Social venture support
• Non-profit incubation
• Youth empowerment programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Vienna

HQ country

Austria

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Financial Partnerships: SIA operates as a charitable organization funded by financial partnerships with foundations, public institutions, and corporations. They offer one-time partnerships (funding specific services) and long-term co-creation partnerships where funders engage their network and expertise. The organization does not generate commercial revenue from participants.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Social Impact Award runs a free social entrepreneurship incubation and education program for young people aged 15-30, delivering workshops, mentorship, venture incubation, and award competitions across 25+ countries via a licensing model with local host organizations. Since 2009, it has built a global community of 30,000+ social innovators, 75,000+ workshop attendees, and 1,000+ partner organizations across 29 countries.

Product overview

Social Impact Award is a social entrepreneurship incubation and education program that operates as a unified offering. The core program enables youth to build ventures with purpose, while The Impact Blueprint serves as the primary educational content product—a 10-part video guide teaching young people how to build careers with purpose. The ecosystem includes Spark (monthly newsletter), Alumni Community, partnership programs, and ESESII consortium activities that support social entrepreneurs in scaling internationally.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Spark: Monthly newsletter built by young people, for young people, sharing inspiring stories from local young social entrepreneurs, tips & tricks for building a venture, and involvement opportunities.

Products and services

• Social Impact Award Program Free social entrepreneurship incubation and education program for youth aged 15-30, delivering workshops, mentorship, venture incubation cohorts, and award competitions across 25+ countries. Since 2015, 30,000+ social innovators have built ventures through the program.
• The Impact Blueprint A 10-part video educational guide for young people on building careers and ventures with purpose, including a 7-day Finding Purpose Challenge email course. Co-funded by the European Union.
• Spark Newsletter Free monthly newsletter featuring inspiring stories from local young social entrepreneurs, tips and tricks for building a venture, and involvement opportunities to engage with the SIA ecosystem.

Quantifiable outcome

• 30,000+ social innovators built ventures with SIA since 2015
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

30 partnerships are on record, tiered core and strategic.

• Impact HubcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal network of hubs providing co-working spaces and entrepreneurship support. SIA is hosted at Impact Hub Vienna headquarters and collaborates with Impact Hubs globally.
• Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner in research and education. Conducted alumni studies and is part of the ESESII consortium for social enterprise internationalization research.
• Global Alliance for Social EntrepreneurshipstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization working on social entrepreneurship ecosystem development globally.
• The PossibilistsstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerConducted largest study on work and lives of 800 young social innovators. Partnership for research and knowledge sharing.
• Euclid NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean network for civil society organizations. Part of ESESII consortium alongside SIA for social enterprise internationalization.
• Euclid NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart of ESESII consortium working on enabling social entrepreneurs to scale internationally.
• Synthesis (Cyprus)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart of ESESII consortium for social enterprise internationalization in Europe.
• MateraHub (Italy)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart of ESESII consortium for social enterprise internationalization in Europe.
• Leipzig University (Germany)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart of ESESII consortium for social enterprise internationalization in Europe.
• Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global CitizensstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization focused on global citizen empowerment and youth leadership development.
• EnpactstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganization supporting entrepreneurship ecosystems, particularly in emerging markets.
• Tech 2 ImpactstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for technology and impact-focused initiatives.
• Purpose TechstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner focused on purpose-driven technology and entrepreneurship.
• World Summit AwardsstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational competition for digital innovation with social impact.
• Social Entrepreneurship AkademiestrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerGerman-speaking network supporting social entrepreneurship education and ventures.
• Amani InstitutestrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal community director from Amani Institute provided testimonial praising SIA's network weaving. Organization focused on impact careers.
• ChangemakerXChangestrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal community of changemakers. Provided testimonial praising 12 years of SIA partnership in Europe's social entrepreneurship ecosystem.
• Razlivalište (Serbia)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerContact organization for Visegrad Fund project implementation in Serbia.
• NGO Center for Youth Education (Montenegro)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerImplementing partner for cross-border non-formal learning program.
• KOLABO Civic Association (Slovakia)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerImplementing partner for cross-border non-formal learning program.
• Hub for Change (Czechia)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerImplementing partner for cross-border non-formal learning program.
• Social Entrepreneurship Netzwerk Deutschland (SEND)strategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerGerman national network for social entrepreneurship.
• Social Entrepreneurship Network Austria (SENA)strategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerAustrian national network for social entrepreneurship.
• Eastern Partnership Civil Society ForumstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerEU Eastern Partnership civil society organization network.
• We Are Family FoundationstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal foundation supporting youth changemakers.
• NGO AcademystrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerTraining and capacity building organization for NGOs.
• the female factorstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganization supporting female entrepreneurs and leaders.
• European Venture Philanthropy Association (EVPA)strategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean association supporting venture philanthropy and social investment.
• Unity EffectstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganization focused on collaborative social impact.
• Action AcceleratorstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerAccelerator program for social enterprises, part of Enactus network.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Echoing Green: US-based fellowship and leadership development organization for social entrepreneurs. Comparable in mission (early-stage social venture support), though more focused on fellowships than incubation cohorts.
• Ashoka: Largest global network for social entrepreneurs, running fellowship programs, changemaker education, and ecosystem building across 90+ countries. Comparable to SIA in mission and global reach, but at significantly larger scale and with a more developed fellowship model.
• Endeavor: Global organization supporting high-impact entrepreneurs through selection, mentorship, and network access. Overlaps with SIA in scaling entrepreneur support programs and a multi-country operating model.
• Enactus: Global non-profit activating student social entrepreneurs through university-based programs in 30+ countries. Highly comparable to SIA's youth-led, campus-adjacent social entrepreneurship model.

Direct peers

• NESsT: Non-profit supporting social enterprises in Central and Eastern Europe and Latin America, with direct regional overlap to SIA. Both organizations run competitions, incubation, and enterprise support in emerging markets.
• Impact Hub: Global network of innovation hubs supporting impact entrepreneurs, with which SIA shares co-working partners, hosts, and a co-located HQ in Vienna. Direct overlap in incubation, events, and community-led entrepreneur support.
• UnLtd: UK-based charity supporting early-stage social entrepreneurs through grants, mentoring, and incubator-style programs. Comparable in offering early-stage social innovators funding, mentorship, and capacity-building support.
• Yunus Social Business: Organization promoting social business models following Mohammed Yunus's philosophy. Comparable in promoting social entrepreneurship education and supporting youth-led impact ventures in multiple regions.
• ChangemakerXChange: Global community of young changemakers organized around action labs and peer exchange. Direct overlap with SIA's youth social entrepreneurship cohort model and cited as a long-term SIA partner.

Others

• Global Social Entrepreneurship Network (GSEN): Network of social entrepreneurship support organizations, of which SIA is plausibly a member. Compares as an ecosystem-building peer rather than a direct program competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/socialimpactaward
• Facebookfacebook.com/socialimpactawardevents
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/socialimpactaward

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Social Impact Award