Support for Social Entrepreneurship Ideas and the Development of Young People from the Western Balkans
For the fifth consecutive year, the Regional Incubator for Social Entrepreneurs (RISE) announces the call for applications for the support program for young social entrepreneurs in the Western Balkans: RISE Journey!
RISE Journey 5: From Idea to Social Business
The essence of the RISE program lies in supporting young people in the Western Balkans in transforming their ideas into sustainable social enterprises. The RISE Journey program, implemented by IEC Tehnopolis in Montenegro, offers participants a nine-month program divided into the ideation and incubation phases.
The Ideation Phase (from October 2024 to February 2025) provides young entrepreneurs with a series of training sessions, coaching sessions, meetups, and a mentoring program that enables them to turn their ideas into sustainable social and ecological projects. At the end of this phase, participants have the opportunity to present a social enterprise model, highlighting its impact and sustainability. The two most promising ideas will be awarded €3,000 each for business development, participation in a regional mobility program, and access to the Incubation phase. The third-place idea will win €500 for the regional mobility program.
The Incubation Phase (from March 2025 to June 2025) expands activities to the regional level. While testing and validating their social enterprise concepts, young social entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to meet their peers at an event in Serbia (RISE Bootcamp) and during the mobility program in the Western Balkans (RISE Expedition).
How to Apply?
The fifth call for applications is open until October 7, 2024, at the following link: application form.
WHO CAN APPLY?
Young people aged 16 to 35 from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia, in a group of at least 2 people, who:
- Are able to participate in two training sessions per month and meetups during the four-month ideation phase, either online or in person;
- Are highly motivated to learn about social entrepreneurship and engage in a regional intercultural program;
- Have the ambition to develop a concrete idea with a social impact;
- Want to learn from other actors in the region;
- Have identified at least a social/ecological problem they wish to solve;
- Have, at best, worked on their idea on a small scale/personal level without engaging in actual business activity;
- Their idea has a regional or local impact.
To participate in the program, teams must demonstrate:
- Their motivation to learn about social entrepreneurship and engage in the regional intercultural program;
- Ambition to develop a concrete idea with a social impact;
- Willingness to learn from others in the region.
About RISE
The RISE project aims to open new paths to reconciliation for young people in the Western Balkans through social entrepreneurship. To that end, the project actively works to enrich the social entrepreneurship landscape by strengthening the capacities of six local support structures (ARNO, Balkan Green Foundation, IEC Tehnopolis, Nešto Više, Smart Kolektiv, and Yunus Social Business Balkans).
In addition, RISE promotes access to social entrepreneurship through its targeted support program for young people in the region who strive to create social or ecological impact in their communities. Since 2019, RISE has successfully supported 175 teams with 508 young people in realizing their social ideas.
This project is co-financed by the French Development Agency (AFD), the European Union, the Regional Youth Cooperation Office (RYCO), and the Franco-German Youth Office (FGYO), and it is implemented by six local incubators: ARNO, Balkan Green Foundation, Nešto Više, Smart Kolektiv, IEC Tehnopolis, and Yunus Social Business Balkans.
