What the Programme is About

Are you a member of a non-profit, civil society organisation or independent media outlet in Armenia with an idea for a social business that can boost your sustainability? The Prague Civil Society Centre and Impact Hub Yerevan invite you to submit your idea and apply for a series of workshops on social entrepreneurship followed by a funding competition.

What to Expect

The aim of the programme is to help civil society organisations working to promote democracy, human rights, rule of law, good governance and civic participation to develop a social business idea that will boost their sustainability. All kinds of non-profits, civic associations and independent media are also eligible to apply.

Participants will work with mentors to refine their business model and practice pitching it to potential investors. Following the workshop, selected participants can compete for start-up funding for their social business idea from the Prague Civil Society Centre. Established social businesses connected to the aforementioned entities can apply for additional investment as well.

Schedule

Workshop (4 days): In-depth, intensive mentoring on business models, storytelling and pitching techniques, presentation of pitches and feedback.

After the workshop: Based on the feedback received at the workshop, participants will submit proposals for their social business to the Prague Civil Society Centre in a funding competition.

Who Should Apply?

Your organisation is encouraged to apply if:

– You have an idea for a social business that will contribute to the sustainability of your civil society organisation supporting social good or directly contribute to your social mission.

– You want to take your idea to the implementation stage. You want to learn more about social entrepreneurship from experts in the field.

– You are looking for a funding opportunity for your social business.

How to Apply

Please only submit one application per organisation. Selected organisations can choose up to two representatives to participate in the programme.

Fill in the application form by July 11, 2020. The application must be completed in English.

Objectives

• Raise greater awareness of social entrepreneurship in Armenia and in the region
• Support students, youth and early-stage social entrepreneurs in developing and implementing innovative business solutions to tackle societal challenges
• Aid the development of entrepreneurial skills through exposure to the field
• Support the best teams with financial capital and active support throughout the year
• Connect participants with an international community of entrepreneurs, peers, and experts

Summary

If you are between the ages of 18 – 30 and have an amazing idea that has the potential to be a successful social venture, then this is the project for you!
During the program, you will be given a set of tools including education, support, consultation and a strong support network.
You might become one of the 10 selected project ideas that will compete for  1,500 EUR and the opportunity to participate in this year’s Social Impact Award Global Summit!

Timeline

• The length of the fellowship is one year.
• Application deadline: May 25, 2021
• Start date: June 7, 2021

Focus Areas

Focus areas may include (but are not limited to):

• Welfare of veterans
• Maternal well-being
• Child welfare (in particular concerning malnutrition and nutrition education)
• Domestic violence
• Animal rights and welfare (including managing street dogs/cats)
• Welfare of people with disabilities

EU-Supported COVID-19 Relief Fund

Within the scope of the project, Impact Hub Yerevan is announcing a call for applications for the EU-Supported COVID-19 Relief Fund, which aims to support social enterprises in Armenia to overcome the negative impact of the pandemic and make them more resilient to similar crises in the future.

Social enterprises are invited to apply for projects with a budget between 3.5 million and 9 million AMD [approximately 5,640-14,510 EUR]. The average grant size for the EU-Supported COVID-19 Relief Fund is expected to be around 6.2 million AMD [10,000 EUR] but larger budgets could be considered based on the needs of the applicant as well as the social impact and profitability of the particular social enterprise. All activities funded have to take place/be implemented within the borders of the Republic of Armenia. 

As outlined in the application form, participants are asked to provide a budget where at least 20% will be directed to medium-to-long-term activities (resilience building), e.g. developing e-commerce, additional sales channels, new products/services. 

Timeline

• The length of the fellowship is one year
• Application deadline: March 1, 2021, 23:59 (Yerevan local time)

Eligibility

The projects we will select for the fellowship should belong to one of the following areas:

• Agriculture (i.e. harvesting solutions, crop preservation & transportation, technological solutions, rural community development etc.)
• Rural development (i.e. field protection, water and/or waste management, minimizing disaster risks, eco-friendly/green projects, plastic recycling etc.)
• Agro-tourism (i.e. family farming, farm stores, farm-tourism, local winemaking, mini cheese factories, mini cattle farm etc. )

…This program is currently in progress…

What is the Tourism Innovation Academy?

The EU4Business supported Tourism Innovation Academy has a goal of boosting early-stage tourism-related startups in their entrepreneurship journey. By nurturing innovative startup businesses, this project will support them in their pursuit of becoming scalable, profitable, sustainable and impactful enterprises. 

The Tourism Innovation Academy implemented by the Tourism Support Center Foundation and funded by the EU4Business “Innovative Tourism and Technology Development for Armenia” Project, in cooperation with Impact Hub Yerevan will drive innovation in the tourism sector and promote purpose-driven entrepreneurs by equipping them with relevant skills, knowledge, access to networks and increasing their capabilities to compete in national and global markets.

Call For Concept

The Tourism Innovation Academy (TIA) is proud to announce this Call for Concept, encouraging you to apply with your innovative ideas to participate in its 3-month Tourism Start-up Incubation Program. 

TIA is searching for innovative and sustainable tourism-related ideas that tackle economic, social and environmental challenges in the tourism sector, with emphasis on the regions of Lori, Shirak and Tavush. 

If you have an idea that…

• is new to the market,
• is new to the region (Lori, Shirak, Tavush), 
• applies a new business model,
• uses new technological, marketing, organizational or product/service delivery methods, 

…and contributes to the following areas/directions/activities of innovative tourism development:

• Innovative technology-based solutions to drive digital transformation and to develop smart products based on AR/VR solutions, artificial intelligence, etc.
• Technologies optimizing business processes, improving business management systems and e-commerce platforms, further dealing with digital inclusion, tourism gamification, open data, interactive maps, etc.
• Forward-looking business concepts contributing to the development of Winter tourism, Eco and Adventure tourism, Wine and Culinary tourism, but also other directions
• Thematic accommodation
• Integration of local produce and delicacies
• Approaches to facilitate accessible and inclusive tourism 
• Solutions focusing on social impact and/or rural development
• Business concepts dealing with environmental topics, energy efficiency, cleantech solutions, green and sustainable approaches, circular economy etc.
• Solutions that address the negative consequences of the Covid-19 Pandemic and Post-Conflict situation for the tourism industry

we encourage you to apply. 

Who Can Apply?

This call is open for applicants from all over Armenia, proposed projects and ideas, though, should contribute to the development of innovative tourism in one or several of Armenia’s three northern regions of Lori, Shirak, Tavush.

Women-led start-ups and/or gender-balanced teams are encouraged to apply. Further, and to assure broad inclusiveness, active participation of entrepreneurial talents who have limited access to resources, incl. persons with special needs, youth, persons in refugee-like situations and persons from marginalized communities and/or rural and/or remote areas, are also strongly encouraged.

We consider the applications of:

• Idea-stage start-up teams (registered or planning to register as a private business entity if awarded a EU4Business ITTD grant at a later stage) 
• Newly created/early-stage enterprises 
• Existing SMEs with growth potential
• Social enterprises registered as a private business entity

What’s in it for the participants?

By participating in our Tourism Start-up Incubation Program, you will be given the opportunity to 

• Get access to workshops, one-on-one mentorship sessions, talks with guest speakers/industry thought leaders. 
• Gain the necessary entrepreneurship knowledge on various areas of business development, such as business modeling, value proposition, branding, storytelling, which will be prioritized based on a needs assessment and respectively developed curriculum.
• Actively participate in facilitated networking events with a community of 200+ creative Impact Hub innovators from Armenia and around the world and build fruitful partnerships.
• Become a member of one of Armenia’s inspiring coworking spaces at Impact Hub Yerevan, Vanadzor Technology Center or Gyumri Technology Center during the Incubation Program. 
• Learn more on pitch deck design and proposal writing skills in preparation for the EU4Business “Innovative Tourism for Armenia” Project’s upcoming grant schemes, synchronized with the Incubation Program.

Apply for EU4Business ITTD grants, with higher chances of being selected and if awarded, to get access to further and tailored startup support through an 8-month Pre-acceleration and Acceleration Program towards the successful implementation of your project.

Selection Process

Up to 45 start-up teams will be selected for participation in the Incubation Program based on the following selection process:

2. The first stage of shortlisting by the Project team based on admin and eligibility requirements.

2. The second stage of shortlisting by the Jury members based on:

a. team composition and individual team members’ track record (30%) 

b. level of innovativeness and competitiveness (20%) 

c. social impact and inclusiveness (15%)

d. sustainability of business models (20%)

e. feasibility and commercial potential of the idea (15%) 

3. Final selection: The finalists will be selected by Jury members based on short videos provided by applicants as part of the application. 

A minimum 30% of the selected start-up projects will be reserved for women-led teams.

Winning teams will be notified in writing in April 2021. 

The Jury’s decision is final. Legal recourse is excluded.

In case of being selected, the teams must commit to pursue their initiative as a top priority (i.e. with at least 60% of their time) and commit to participating in at least 60% of programs, events and community activities offered in the frame of the TIA’s Incubation Program.

Key Dates

• Application deadline: March 21, 2021 (23:59 Yerevan Time)

Objectives

• Raise greater awareness of social entrepreneurship in Armenia and in the region
• Support students, youth and early-stage social entrepreneurs in developing and implementing innovative business solutions to tackle societal challenges
• Aid the development of entrepreneurial skills through exposure to the field
• Support the best teams with financial capital and active support throughout the year
• Connect participants with an international community of entrepreneurs, peers, and experts

Summary

If you are between the ages of 18 – 30 and have an amazing idea that has the potential to be a successful social venture, then this is the project for you!
During the program, you will be given a set of tools including education, support, consultation and a strong support network.
You might become one of the 10 selected project ideas that will compete for  1,500 EUR and the opportunity to participate in this year’s Social Impact Award Global Summit!

…This program has been completed…

What is the GovTech Launchpad Project?

The GovTech Launchpad aims at co-creating innovative solutions for public sector challenges through cooperation between startups and the public sector.

This project will bring tech start-ups and the public sector together in a mutually beneficial innovation process, in which tech solutions for public challenges or problems are developed in a co-creative manner. 

The project is an international pilot initiative by GIZ in cooperation with Impact Hub Yerevan, and The Office of High Commissioner of Diaspora Affairs, at the Prime Minister’s Office of the Government of Armenia (RA).

The Challenge

The Office of the High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs strives to provide the best public service delivery for the Armenian Diaspora in the world, as well as the repatriates who move to live in their homeland Armenia. 

Through this project, innovative startups are invited to offer tech solutions* that would:

1. Support the processes for diasporans intending to move to Armenia 
2. Support the needs of repatriates within Armenia 

*The proposed solutions can address one or both objectives together and can be profit-generating or non-profit solutions.

Target Groups

The direct target groups to be served by this innovative tech solutions are: 

• The Armenian Repatriates, and Expats
• The Armenian Diaspora 
• The public sector

Who is it for?

• Existing tech startups, operating inside Armenia or anywhere in the world 
• The teams should have experience in developing innovative tech solutions 
• If selected, the teams should allocate the time to commit to this project until the end period and pitching the tech solution in November 2020

What’s in it for the participants?

The project offers Impact Hub’s unique ecosystem, including:

• professional individual coaching
• mentorship by entrepreneurs/professionals in their area of practice
• membership at Impact Hub Yerevan with access to an inspiring space & infrastructure
• peer-to-peer learning component and professional networking through facilitated events with a community of 250+ creative innovators
• access to 100+ Impact Hubs around the world
• learning curriculum including training sessions and workshops on GovTech industry, Business, Technology and Impact.

Moreover,

• The participants will have the opportunity to innovate and develop tech solutions for the government of Armenia as well as the Armenian diaspora, and repatriates
• Maintain the IP of their developed products and potentially scale it internationally
• Create a long-term partnership with the Office of Diaspora
• Each of the 4 selected teams will receive financial support to develop their solutions

Key Dates

• Application Deadline: August 31, 11:59 pm
• Introduction Event – August 2020
• 2.5 days Bootcamp and Awards Ceremony – Early September 2020
• Up to 3 months Acceleration Period – September-November 2020
• Final Pitch Event – November 2020

What the Program is About

Are you a member of a non-profit, civil society organization or independent media outlet in Armenia with an idea for a social business that can boost your sustainability? The Prague Civil Society Centre and Impact Hub Yerevan invite you to submit your idea and apply for a workshop on social entrepreneurship followed by a funding competition.

What to Expect

The aim of the program is to help civil society organizations working to promote democracy, human rights, rule of law, good governance and civic participation to develop a social business idea that will boost their sustainability. All kinds of non-profits, civic associations and independent media are also eligible to apply.

Participants will work with mentors to refine their business model and practice pitching it to potential investors. Following the workshop, selected participants can compete for start-up funding for their social business idea from the Prague Civil Society Centre. Established social businesses connected to the aforementioned entities can apply for additional investment as well. Read about last year’s program here.

Schedule

One day preparation meeting: mentors will present different methods for building a business model and discuss the principles of effective project and product management.

Workshop (3 days): In-depth, intensive mentoring on business models, storytelling and pitching techniques, presentation of pitches and feedback.

After the workshop: Based on the feedback received at the workshop, participants will submit proposals for their social business to the Prague Civil Society Centre in a funding competition.

Who Should Apply?

Your organization is encouraged to apply if:

– You have an idea for a social business that will contribute to the sustainability of your civil society organization supporting social good or directly contribute to your social mission.

– You want to take your idea to the implementation stage. You want to learn more about social entrepreneurship from experts in the field.

– You are looking for a funding opportunity for your social business.

How to Apply

Please only submit one application per organization. Selected organizations can choose up to two representatives to participate in the program.

Fill in the application form by May 15, 2020.

Timeline

• The length of the fellowship is one year.
• Application deadline: April 16, 2020
• Start date: May 2020

Focus Areas

Focus areas may include (but are not limited to):

• Welfare of veterans
• Maternal well-being
• Child welfare (in particular concerning malnutrition and nutrition education)
• Domestic violence
• Animal rights and welfare (including managing street dogs/cats)
• Welfare of people with disabilities

Timeline

• The length of the incubation is 9 months
• Application deadline: February 4th, 2020, 23:59 (Yerevan local time)
• Starting time: late February 2020

Eligibility

Women-led bold and daring teams implementing ideas for the common good are eligible to apply.

Teams selected for the incubation must commit to pursuing their initiative as a top priority (i.e. with at least 80% of their time) and promise to participate in at least 80% of programs, events and community activities at Impact Hub Yerevan.

…This program has been completed…

Description

The Izmirlian Foundation / Impact Hub Yerevan fellowship program supports social entrepreneurs who are interested in developing a project or enterprise which aims to tackle a social problem. Priority will be given to projects in: Education, Health, Tourism and Community Development.

Goal & Benefits

The goal of the fellowship is to support entrepreneurs by offering Impact Hub’s unique ecosystem, which includes:

• professional individual coaching by Fellowships Manager
• mentorship by entrepreneurs/professionals in their area of practice
• membership at Impact Hub Yerevan with access to an inspiring space & infrastructure
• peer-to-peer learning component and professional networking through facilitated events with a community of 250+ creative innovators
• access to 100+ impact hubs around the world

* Please note: this fellowship program does not include financial assistance.

Timeline

• The length of the fellowship is 6 months, and it is offered twice a year.
• Application deadline: November 17, 2019, 23:59
• Start date: December, 2019

Eligibility

Bold and daring teams implementing ideas for the common good are eligible to apply.

In case of receiving the Fellowship, the teams must commit to pursue their initiative as a top priority (i.e. with at least 50% of their time) and promise to participate in at least 50% of programs, events and community activities at Impact Hub Yerevan.

Objectives

• Raise greater awareness of social entrepreneurship in Armenia and in the region
• Support students, youth and early-stage social entrepreneurs in developing and implementing innovative business solutions to tackle societal challenges
• Aid the development of entrepreneurial skills through exposure to the field
• Support the best teams with financial capital and active support throughout the year
• Connect participants with an international community of entrepreneurs, peers, and experts

Timeline

• The length of the fellowship is one year
• Application deadline: November 15th, 2019, 23:59 (Yerevan local time)
• Start date: December 1st, 2019

Eligibility

The projects we will select for the fellowship should belong to one of the following areas:

• Agriculture (i.e. harvesting solutions, crop preservation & transportation, technological solutions, rural community development etc.)
• Rural development (i.e. field protection, water and/or waste management, minimizing disaster risks, eco-friendly/green projects, plastic recycling etc.)
• Agro-tourism (i.e. family farming, farm stores, farm-tourism, local winemaking, mini cheese factories, mini cattle farm etc. )

Objectives

There are several dozen social enterprises operating in Armenia, most of which have been founded through funding by grant programmes. While these social enterprises are doing good work, many of them remain small, with limited impact and profitability, which also makes their sustainability vulnerable. Several projects are focusing on promoting knowledge and awareness on social entrepreneurship in Armenia, but there is still a deficit when it comes to case studies and other material on social enterprise success stories and lessons learned from different countries available in the Armenian language and relevant to the local context.

The SELLA project aims to make these success stories available to stakeholders in the Armenian social entrepreneurship ecosystem through webinars with social enterprises from other countries, including the United Kingdom, translation of available video material, discussion events. By making this material publicly available, the project will:

1. Supplement ongoing efforts on social entrepreneurship by promoting success stories and lessons learned from real-life cases, which will include specialized knowledge for existing social enterprises in Armenia
2. Help make the concept of social entrepreneurship more understandable to members of the general public and other stakeholders (including state institutions) who are just starting to demonstrate an interest in the area

Content updates, learning materials and videos of the project will be continuously published in this webpage.

Case Study #1 – Cracked It

Founded by Josh Babarinde in 2016, Cracked It supports young people just out of prison – the mission was to prevent them from going back to prison by helping them find meaningful jobs. The case studies for Cracked It are available in both Armenian and English.

Armenian version   |   English version

Case Study #2 – Cocco Bello

Cocco Bello was founded by Guzel Sanzhapova in the village of Malyy Turysh in the Russian Federation and was originally a family business. Now it is a social enterprise with a mission to save the village from extinction.

Armenian version   |   English version

Case Study #3 – Living Broccoli

Businesses and individuals generate a large amount of waste every day. Some waste items, particularly plastic, remain in the environment for a long time and cause damage to their surroundings. Living Broccoli’s mission is to reduce waste by upcycling materials into items that can be used again. At the moment, they are focused in particular on polyvinyl chloride, the material used in advertising billboards.

Armenian version   |   English version

Case Study #4 – Pragulic

Pragulic challenges the stereotypes associated with homelessness by enabling people to experience the world from a homeless perspective.

Armenian version   |   English version

Case Study #5 – Diseclar

Diseclar is helping clean the environment of plastic by recycling it into products that have a long lifetime.

Armenian version   |   English version

Case Study #6 – Aurora Coworking

Aurora Coworking is a coworking space that brings together entrepreneurs and, besides providing them with the facilities to work and develop their businesses, this social enterprise provides them with a safe space to share their challenges and get peer support.

Armenian version   |   English version

Case Study #7 – EkoFungi

EkoFungi combines traditional knowledge of mushroom growing with innovative solutions, making this a sustainable agriculture solution that can be replicated and disseminated.

Armenian version   |   English version

Case Study #8 – English School

English School is an online-only English service, delivered exclusively through WhatsApp.

Armenian version   |   English version

Case Study #9 – Réalise

Réalise trains candidates with little or no education in highly labour-intensive business sectors, supports and facilitates their recruitment by potential employers.

Armenian version   |   English version

     Video 2  |  Video 3

Case Study #10 – HearX

HearX aims to provide affordable access to hearing care using smart digital health solutions that anyone can use, anywhere. The company believes that people can gain access to hearing tests by using today’s technology. The big vision that drives the team at HearX is “healthy hearing for everyone everywhere.”

Armenian version   |   English version

Summary Compilation Video

SELLA Case Study Summary

The following publication is a summary of the SELLA (Social Entrepreneurship Lessons Learned for Armenia) project. We have collected stories from ten social enterprises around the world, highlighting useful lessons for entrepreneurs. Each case often covers several aspects of interest to anyone interested in social entrepreneurship adding something new to the literature currently available in Armenia on social entrepreneurship. We have strived to make these cases as diverse as possible.  We hope you enjoy this publication with the associated online material and look forward to hearing about success stories on social entrepreneurship in Armenia that we can share with the rest of the world!

Armenian version   |   English version

Goals & Benefits

The objectives of the program are:

1. Increase awareness and promote entrepreneurial solutions tackling the Sustainable Development Goals globally.
2. Scale entrepreneurial solutions for the SDGs through identifying sustainable and effective scaling models and providing access to financing, expertise and strategic networks.
3. Foster strong entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystems supporting the SDGs, both at the national and international level

Goals & Benefits

The goal of the fellowship is to support entrepreneurs by offering 1 year of Impact Hub’s unique ecosystem, which includes:

• professional individual coaching by Fellowships Manager
• mentorship by entrepreneurs/professionals in their area of practice
• membership at Impact Hub Yerevan with access to an inspiring space & infrastructure
• peer-to-peer learning component and professional networking through facilitated events with a community of 250+ creative innovators
• access to 100+ impact hubs around the world

* Please note: this fellowship program does not include financial assistance.

Timeline

• The length of the fellowship is one year.
• Application deadline: March 29, 2019, 23:59 (Yerevan local time)
• Start date: July 1, 2019

Eligibility

Bold and daring teams implementing ideas for the common good are eligible to apply.

In case of receiving the Fellowship, the teams must commit to pursue their initiative as a top priority (i.e. with at least 50% of their time) and promise to participate in at least 50% of programs, events and community activities at Impact Hub Yerevan.

Timeline

For the first 4 months of the 1-year program, the start-ups will be incubated by the Foundation for Armenian Science and Technology (FAST) https://fast.foundation/
Thereafter, for the next 8 months, the start-ups will move to Impact Hub Yerevan where they will receive:
– space at Impact Hub Yerevan offices for an 8 month period
– access to Impact Hubs programs & events + other 100+ impact hubs around the world
– a dedicated staff person who will manage the program, manage engagement with the mentors, and follow the progress of the start ups
– individual coaching and tailored mentorship
– unlimited access to Impact Hub resources, including workspace & infrastructure,
– an opportunity to work alongside 200+ creative innovators in Armenia across every sector
– access to the 100+ Impact Hubs around the world
– peer-to-peer learning and educational programs/event

Eligibility

The Neruzh program is for young entrepreneurs (ages 18-35) of Armenian descent ready to move to Armenia to implement their business idea.