Bio

Jakob Detering is a globally active social entrepreneur and passionate advocate for young change agents around the world. As its main shareholder and Managing Director he is leading Social Impact Award, one of the world’s largest communities of early-stage social entrepreneurs under 30, mainly active in Europe, Africa and Asia. Jakob is committed to building capacity among early-stage entrepreneurs and fostering cross-sector dialogues on the topic of social entrepreneurship. Based in Vienna, Austria, he is leading a diverse team of 100+ SIA team members and is overseeing the community growth and strategic development.

Moreover, Jakob serves as a university lecturer for MBA classes on social entrepreneurship, is a member of the Management Board of the World Summit Awards and an Advisor the first impact investing fund in Austria. He also consults social enterprises around the world on their challenges around strategy, business modeling, scaling and team development. Jakob is a frequent speaker at events and conferences with a focus on social entrepreneurship, social innovation and youth advocacy.

Before he joined Social Impact Award in 2015, Jakob worked in the foundation sector for 4+ years, funding and consulting social enterprises across Europe. He started his social entrepreneurial career as general manager of ‘Somaro’, a Bucharest-based social business that operates social groceries across Romania to reduce food waste and provide Romanians living at the edge of poverty with access to low-priced food. Jakob holds a Master in Public Policy and a Bachelor in Business, Economics and Social Sciences. Since 2013, he also serves as a Global Shaper of the World Economic Forum.