CollectiveUP

What CollectiveUP does

CollectiveUP is a Belgian private limited company (BV) founded in 2021 and headquartered in Sint-Amandsberg (Ghent), operating as a social impact organization with a 6-person multidisciplinary core team. The company researches, develops, and disseminates methods and technologies for democratic participation, rights-centered education, digital inclusion, and sustainable urban development, supporting the UN's 17 Sustainable Development Goals and the EU's Triple Transition across digital, green, and social dimensions. Its portfolio spans EU-funded projects (FutureEd, CONIFER, DIGISET, Skills+ 3.0, St@ndByMe, Agile4Collaboration, Youth4Bauhaus, AgileXR, AI4Inclusive Education, FAIaS), a founding partnership in the EIT Culture & Creativity KIC, an AI-powered EU proposal writing tool (Grantif.ai), educational resources (digital storybooks, Minecraft Education worlds, AgileXR E-book), and consultancy services spanning diversity training, gender equality plans, co-creation facilitation, and personalized learning experiences. Methodology stack combines sociocracy, agile collective decision-making, design thinking, gamification, and ethics-by-design / privacy-by-design principles.

The business model is grant-driven rather than commercial SaaS: primary revenue comes from EU programs (Erasmus+, Horizon Europe, EIT Culture & Creativity), supplemented by fee-based consultancy, training, and a LearnUP learning platform with undisclosed subscription pricing. Go-to-market is event- and community-led, reaching European schools, social SMEs, municipalities, elderly populations, and youth with disabilities through EU project consortiums, conferences, and online communities. Customers include European schools in the FutureEd program, social economy organizations served via DIGISET, children and youth across 6 cities in CONIFER, and adult education practitioners in St@ndByMe. CollectiveUP is pre-selected by the European Commission DG REFORM for Citizen Participation and Deliberative Democracy services and has won the 2025 European Enterprise Awards (Double Victory) and EPOS Success Story 2025 recognition.

Name

CollectiveUP

Legal name

CollectiveUP BV

Website

https://collectiveup.be

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

CollectiveUP is a Belgian social enterprise that designs EU-funded projects, educational tools, and AI-assisted methodologies for democratic participation, rights-centered education, and digital inclusion across European schools, social SMEs, municipalities, and vulnerable populations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social Impact Consultancy

NAICS

Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Civic and Social Organizations (8134)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

STEM, Digital Skills & Innovation Partnerships (EDADALAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

K–12 Support & School Improvement Nonprofits (BPAGADAB), Special Education, Disability Support & Inclusive Education Nonprofits (BPAGADAH)

Keywords

• Social impact consulting
• EU project management
• Grant matchmaking AI
• Sustainability advisory
• Education transformation

Headquarters

HQ city

Sint-amandsberg

HQ country

Belgium

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. EU Project Funding: Primary revenue stream from Erasmus+, Horizon Europe, and EIT Culture & Creativity grants. The organization participates as a partner or consortium lead in EU-funded projects focused on digital transformation, education, and social impact.
2. Consultancy and Training Services: Fees for consultancy services including diversity and inclusion training, gender equality plans, co-creation processes, and personalized learning experiences (talks, workshops)
3. LearnUP Platform: Learning programs and online seminars on agile learning and educational transformation

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

CollectiveUP is a Belgian social impact consultancy that designs, coordinates, and delivers EU-funded projects across education, digital inclusion, and sustainability for schools, municipalities, social enterprises, and NGOs. It complements its consulting and training services with proprietary digital tools, including the AI-powered grant matchmaking platform Grantif.ai and the LearnUP learning platform.

Product overview

CollectiveUP is a social impact organization offering a portfolio of educational programs, digital transformation services, and consultancy offerings. The core portfolio includes LearnUP (learning experience platform), various EU-funded projects (FutureEd, CONIFER, DIGISET, Skills+ 3.0, St@ndByMe, Agile4 Collaboration, AgileXR-teamwork, Youth4 Bauhaus, AI4Inclusive Education, FAIaS, EIT Culture & Creativity, Build Peace Conference), AI-powered tools (Grantif.ai for EU proposal writing), and consultancy services (Impactful Communication, Self-directed Learning Communities, Project Proposal Preparation, R&D Consultancy, Gender Equality Plans, Co-creation Processes, Personalized Learning Experiences). The organization focuses on digital, green, and social transitions supporting the UN's 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• FutureEd EU-funded consortium project led by CollectiveUP focused on the future of education and digital skills, targeting schools, educators, and learners across partner countries.
• CONIFER EU-funded consortium project managed by CollectiveUP to advance its social impact and sustainability agenda through structured cross-border collaboration.
• DIGISET EU-funded project designed and delivered by CollectiveUP to advance digital inclusion and digital skills among target learner and citizen groups.
• Grantif.ai AI-powered grant matchmaking and discovery tool built by CollectiveUP that helps organizations, social enterprises, and project teams identify and qualify for relevant funding opportunities, including EU grants.
• LearnUP Online learning and capacity-building platform operated by CollectiveUP that delivers training programs and educational resources aligned with the firm's social impact and sustainability offerings.
• Social Impact Consulting Advisory and program design service through which CollectiveUP supports institutions, municipalities, NGOs, and social enterprises in aligning their strategies and projects with the UN's 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
• Training and Capacity-Building Programs Structured training and capacity-building programs delivered by CollectiveUP to educators, municipal staff, NGOs, and social enterprise teams on sustainability, digital inclusion, and project management topics.

Quantifiable outcome

• Agile4Collaboration recognized as 'EPOS Success Story 2025'
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

22 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• EIT Culture & Creativity (European Institute of Innovation and Technology)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023CollectiveUP is a founding and core partner of the EIT Culture & Creativity, the ninth Knowledge and Innovation Community (KIC) by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology. This KIC ecosystem provides interventions to the Culture and Creativity Sector Industry and fosters interdisciplinary and cross-sector collaboration.
• EUDEC (European Democratic Education Community)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFutureEd project partner working on integrating human rights, children's rights, and digital rights into everyday teaching and learning. Collaborates on co-creating resources with teachers, students, and rights advocates.
• VUB (Vrije Universiteit Brussel)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLead partner in CONIFER project on urban mobility and 15-minute city concepts. Mobilise research group at VUB hosted project kick-off meeting.
• Pro WorkmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSkills+ 3.0 project partner focused on empowering young adults with disabilities through national and international skills competitions.
• Impact HubmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDIGISET project partner providing support for social economy organisations in their digitalization journey with focus on AI and data.
• FARI (AI for the Common Good)majorTechnology or IntegrationDIGISET project partner - Brussels-based AI research center supporting digital transformation of social SMEs.
• ALLI asbl (Association Luxembourgeoise pour la Liberté d'Instruction)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFutureEd project partner that developed the legal and ethical framework on rights-centered education, working at intersection of law, ethics and education.
• Linköping UniversitymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSt@ndByMe project partner focused on digital inclusion of older persons within human rights framework.
• Keerpunt Freinet SchoolsmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAgile4Collaboration and Youth4Bauhaus partner - Belgian Freinet school network involved in agile learning and youth urban design projects.
• Ghent UniversitymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner in multiple EU projects including FAIaS, contributing research expertise in AI education and ethics.
• City of GentmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerYouth4Bauhaus and CONIFER partner - Belgian municipality collaborating on urban design and 15-minute city initiatives.
• SOGA (Social Good Accelerator)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDIGISET project partner supporting digital innovation for social impact in the social economy sector.
• Discord CommunityminorOthersDIGISET project uses Discord server for ongoing community engagement and conversation between social SMEs and digital providers.
• MOME (Moholy Nagy University of Art and Design)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCONIFER project partner contributing design expertise to urban mobility and proximity city concepts.
• Metropolia University of Applied SciencesmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAgileXR project partner from Finland focused on agile learning methodologies and XR technology for hybrid education.
• La ScientothequemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAI4InclusiveEducation and FAIaS project partner contributing to AI education initiatives for youth in Belgium.
• EurecatmajorTechnology or IntegrationDIGISET project partner - technology center providing expertise in digital transformation and AI for social economy.
• CIKE (Creative Industry Košice)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerYouth4Bauhaus partner from Slovakia focused on creative industries and youth engagement in urban design.
• Erasmus Hogeschool BrusselmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAI4InclusiveEducation project partner contributing to AI literacy and ethics education initiatives.
• Tree AgencymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSt@ndByMe project partner working on digital inclusion and human rights for older adults.
• Wuppertal InstitutemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCONIFER project partner providing expertise on climate, environment and energy for sustainable urban development.
• Artevelde HogeschoolmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBuild Peace Conference co-organizer, bringing expertise in higher education and peacebuilding initiatives.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Ashoka: Global network supporting leading social entrepreneurs and system-change initiatives. Comparable as a larger, established social-entrepreneurship ecosystem with overlapping community and changemaker mission.
• Nesta: UK innovation foundation working on education, AI ethics, and democratic participation. Comparable as a larger mission-driven innovation organization in adjacent verticals (AI, education, civic participation).
• EIT Climate-KIC: Established EU Knowledge and Innovation Community focused on climate innovation. Comparable as a fellow EIT KIC ecosystem partner, sharing CollectiveUP's EU institutional funding model and consortium-based delivery.

Direct peers

• Open Knowledge Foundation: European civic-tech nonprofit building open-source tools for open data and democratic accountability. Comparable as an EU-funded civic-tech and open-government peer with overlapping education and policy missions.
• Decidim: Open-source participatory-democracy platform originating from Barcelona, used across European municipalities for citizen deliberation. Directly comparable to CollectiveUP's participatory-platform and CONIFER proximity-city work.
• Democratic Society: European consultancy working with governments and EU institutions on citizen participation, deliberative democracy, and civic technology. Directly comparable to CollectiveUP's Citizen Participation pre-selection with EU Commission and participatory-design offering.
• Civilla: US-based civic-service design firm that partners with governments to make public services more accessible and participatory. Comparable as a design-driven civic-participation specialist targeting public institutions.

Regional players

• European Cultural Foundation: European foundation funding cultural and civic initiatives across the continent. Comparable as a pan-European grantmaker operating in the culture, civic engagement, and inclusion space alongside CollectiveUP's EIT Culture & Creativity work.

Others

• European Policy Centre: Brussels-based think tank producing policy analysis on EU democracy, digital, and green transitions. Comparable as a Brussels policy and democracy ecosystem peer that complements CollectiveUP's EU institutional engagement.
• Impact Hub: Global network of impact-focused incubators supporting social entrepreneurs. Directly listed as a CollectiveUP project partner (DIGISET); comparable as a social-innovation ecosystem enabler and potential commercial channel.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@Collective-UP
• Facebookfacebook.com/CollectiveUP
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/collectiveup
• Xx.com/CollectiveUPbe

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 CollectiveUP