Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation

The Social Impact Award was founded by the Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation of the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration in 2009. Since then it has been organizer of the Social Impact Award in Austria. Since 2012 it also holds the academic partnership for all countries involved.
Entrepreneurship combines identification, further development and benefits from new market opportunities. Entrepreneurial action forms the basis of the foundation of a company and innovation. The Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation of Vienna University of Economics and Business (Prof. Nikolaus Franke and Prof. Christopher Lettl) dedicates its research and teaching to this phenomenon. It was founded in 2011 and has been able to move a lot since then. There are a lot of top publications in cooperation with well recognized institutions like MIT in Boston and LMU Munich. Furthermore in the context of teaching, more than 250 projects were organized and implemented with start-ups and well-established, innovative companies. This has led to numerous innovation prizes for high quality lectures.

HUB Vienna Incubation

In Austria and Romania HUB Vienna Incubation is the organiser of the award. The center designs, develops and manages programs and services that provide capacity building, acceleration and impact scaling for enterprises in Central Eastern Europe. In its work it address specific needs at all stages of the entrepreneurial process: from intention, start-up to scale. It connects social entrepreneurs, investors and supporters with the aim of finding ways to disrupt society by shifting economic thought from profit towards impact.

The HUB Praha

In the Czech Republic, the Award is organized in cooperation with the Hub Prague. The Hub is a large shared workspace combining advantages of a professional office, an internet café and a business incubator. Freelancers, independent professionals, startups, NGO and business people use it as a coworking space. They come to work while making new contacts, getting inputs, ideas and developing new opportunities. Hub Praha is a part of international network of 30 Hubs on all continents.

ERSTE Foundation

Our main funder on regional level is ERSTE Foundation.
ERSTE Foundation is active in the Central and South Eastern European region. Together with its partners, it creates a hive of activity for common good. Founded in 2003 it began its work two years later by developing its three programmes Social Development, Culture and Europe. ERSTE Foundation is the legal successor of the 190-year-old “Erste oesterreichische Spar-Casse”, the first Austrian savings bank. Its two commitments are based on these historical roots: as the major shareholder ERSTE Foundation safeguards the future of Erste Group as an independent company and invests its dividend to support the common good. This makes ERSTE Foundation a unique institution of this kind and size in Central and South Eastern Europe.

We also thank our numerous partners, sponsors and volunteers in each country for their invaluable contribution to the award (for more details, please visit the partner section of each country)