Social Entrepreneurs Ireland is investing €500,000 in social entrepreneurship through two programmes of training and support currently open for application.
Social entrepreneurs are a significant catalyst towards Ireland achieving its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs ), as they deliver accelerated social change by tackling some of Ireland’s toughest problems. The Ideas Academy, closing next week (16th May ), is aimed at people with innovative early-stage ideas to solve social problems. The Impact programme, aimed at organisations who are looking to scale up their impact, is closing at midnight on the 30th May.
“We believe that social entrepreneurs are some of the most effective actors when it comes to accelerating social change in Ireland. The work of these social entrepreneurs will help Ireland on its journey towards Ireland achieving its Sustainable Development Goals. If you have an innovative solution that helps us tackle some of Ireland’s social problems, Social Entrepreneurs Ireland and our Ideas Academy are here to support you to get it started. There is just one week left to apply to the Ideas Academy which is aimed at people with early-stage ideas to solve social problems," CEO of Social Entrepreneurs Ireland, Tim Griffiths, said.
The Ideas Academy has up to 30 places for people with innovative early-stage ideas to solve social problems. The three-month programme will be delivered online in 2023 and will provide participants with the support and direction they need as they take the first steps from idea to action, sparking a new generation of social entrepreneurs. Participants will be supported to clearly articulate, refine and progress their solution, to build skills and accelerate learning in core areas of importance to social entrepreneurs, and develop an action plan to pilot their idea post-programme. Each participant will receive a bursary of €500 to assist their participation on the programme. At the end of the three months, there is the opportunity to pitch for seed funding from a pot of €20,000 to pilot their idea. Previous organisations supported by the Ideas Academy include Spéire Nua, Refill Ireland, FASD Ireland and The Together Academy.
There are five places available on Social Entrepreneurs Ireland’s prestigious Impact Programme, aimed at high-potential social entrepreneurs who are looking to bring their organisation to the next level. Awardees will join the nine-month accelerator programme, where they will receive mentorship, bespoke training, and consultancy in leadership development, fundraising, governance, strategic planning, and communications. They will also each receive €20,000 in unrestricted funding and will access to pro-bono support from SEI’s partner organisations. Alumni of the programme include AsIAm, Grow Remote, The Two Norries, and Jiminy Eco Toys.
Applications for the Ideas Academy are open until midnight on Tuesday, May 16, and applications for the Impact Programme close at midnight on Tuesday, May 30. Interested candidates can apply or find out more at socialentrepreneurs.ie
