Smart Kolektiv is proud to share the Open Call for RISE ALUMNI Awards! Building a strong community of young social entrepreneurs in the Western Balkans is our direction and the call is open only for alumni from Journey #3 (2022–2023) and Journey #4 (2023–2024) (teams that participated in the Demo Days in 2023/2024) to apply. The Call is available only in English. All details are below: 

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 RISE Journeys, RISE has supported over 365 young people and 130 ideas 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. 

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 3 and 4 Journeys (pitched on the Demo Day). The awards will grant two (2) RISE alumni teams an additional €5,000 for further development of their ideas/social enterprises. 

WHO CAN APPLY? 

The RISE alumni awards are open to RISE alumni teams from Journey 3 and Journey 4 (RISE Journey 1 and 2 already had the chance to participate in the previous RISE Alumni awards), except the RISE teams currently in the incubation phase of the RISE Journey 5. To apply, the teams should: 

  • have successfully finished one of the RISE Journeys (pitched on the Demo Day) 
  • have continued with the same idea/social enterprise as in the respective RISE Journey (read: new ideas/new social enterprises/entities are not supported) 
  • have continuous activity since completing the RISE Journey (ex. Economic-sales or non-economic-participation in other incubation or acceleration programs, training, conferences, media presence,) (read: the team and the idea didn’t stop) 
  • have already developed a prototype of their product or service (read: it’s not at “ah we still have the idea only” level) 
  • have a detailed plan for the development of their social enterprise/idea (read: plan of activities for the future) 
  • have an expenditure plan/budget for the RISE Alumni Award (read: budget that is necessary for the progress) 
  • be available to participate online in the pitching session at the RISE 6 Local events in front of the local jury and central jury. The pitching session will take place online on September 18th, 2025. 
  • have a good command of the English language (at least the person who will pitch) 

PRE-SELECTION PROCESS 

Here are the steps for the process: 

  1. All interested alumni should apply by filling out the following APPLICATION FORM by September 6th, at 23:59.
  2. Each Local Incubator* will create a Commission to each of the respecting contracting parties that will pre-select the teams.
  3. Each Local Incubator selects one (1) RISE team. In total, 6 teams will pitch at the Forum. Please note pitching sessions for pre-selection will not be organized (read: teams need to have solid/convincing applications)
  4. Teams will be notified by the LIs on the results (dates will vary by Local Incubator)

CRITERIA FOR PRE-SELECTION 

Each Local Incubator Commission will deliberate the decision based on the following criteria: 

  • Motivation and ambition of the RISE alumni team 
  • Quality of the plan for the development of the idea/social enterprise (projected activities) 
  • Capacity for absorption of the award and the quality of the expenditure plan (projected financial structure) 
  • Potential for sustainability, scaling, and replication of the idea/social enterprise in the region 
  • Potential for the creation of additional jobs (especially inclusion of the beneficiaries and target groups) 

Additional criteria: advantages will be given to ideas in an advanced stage or already registered entities, ideas with proof of concept, or ideas/entities that have secured further funding for developing their social enterprise. (read: RISE teams that made progress after the RISE Journey) 

PITCHING SESSION – ONLINE, September 18th, 2025 

The pre-selected teams, 6 in total (one member per team only) will be invited to participate at the RISE Regional Pitching session that will take place online on September 18th, 2025. Each of the teams will have 10 minutes. 5 minutes for presentation, 5 minutes for Q&A by the Jury. 

The working language of the Forum is English (without exceptions). 

The teams will pitch their idea/social enterprise in front of a Jury Commission consisting of international experts and professionals in the social economy field. The Jury Commission will select the best two (2) teams that receive a financial award. 

AWARDS 

The awards will grant two (2) alumni teams an additional €5,000 (each) for further development of their social enterprises/ideas. Further information about legal and administrative matters will be provided after the Pitching session. 

The Award Ceremony will give award cheques to the 2 winners in person and the announcement of the winners will be September 22nd. 

DEADLINE 

The call for applications is open until the September 6th, at 23:59. 

For any questions, please contact your RISE Local Incubator coordinator and assistant – Smart Kolektiv, Serbia:

The RISE project is supported by the Agence Française de Développement, European Union (EU), Regional Youth Cooperation Office (RYCO), Franco-German Youth Office (OFAJ), PULSE (Groupe SOS). The RISE activities are implemented by six organizations from the Western Balkans: ARNO, Balkan Green Foundation, Nešto Više, Smart Kolektiv, IEC Tehnopolis, and Yunus Social Business Balkans.