Call for applications for the annual Social Entrepreneurship pitch competition
Social Entrepreneurship Association of Latvia in cooperation with Luminor bank keeps their tradition and organises the Social Entrepreneurship pitch or presentation competition ”Let the good ideas grow 2024”. The aim of the competition is to promote the development of existing social enterprises and new social entrepreneurship ideas, as well as to share the ideas across Latvia. This year, the total prize fund – funding to implement a social business idea or develop an organisation – is €8,000. The participation in the competition is free of charge and the application is open until 20 September: https://ej.uz/pičs_2024
The competition is open to existing and emerging social entrepreneurs from all over Latvia. They can be companies with or without social enterprise status, associations and foundations that need funding to implement a new idea or an existing project. In addition individuals who are still cherishing their social entrepreneurship idea and looking for start-up funding can also apply. The main aspect for eligibility is that an organisation or business idea fits the essence and definition of social entrepreneurship – producing goods or services to solve a social problem and benefit society.
“Year after year, we see that the prize money is an important boost for both existing and emerging social enterprises. And funding is not the only benefit – participants also gain good public visibility and recognition, learn how to present their idea professionally, and establish contacts and business partnerships with other social entrepreneurs. Every year we also introduce thematic accents – this year those top 10 participants whose product or service is a social innovation, or addresses sustainability issues, focuses on preserving nature and green course will receive special prizes,”
says Regita Zeiļa, director of Social Entrepreneurship Association of Latvia.
“The cooperation with the Social Entrepreneurship Association of Latvia and the pitch competition for social entrepreneurs has become an annual tradition. Every year it is inspiring to see new ideas and commitment to something that is relevant, topical and even unaddressed for society. We are glad that social entrepreneurs keep their finger on the pulse of society’s needs, thus also raising a need and finding solutions for it,” says Kerli Vares, Head of Luminor banka Latvia.
The competition is organised in three rounds, to apply please read the REGULATIONS (in Latvian) of the competition and fill in the APPLICATION FORM (in Latvian). The 25 strongest ideas will be shortlisted for the second round of the competition, where the participants will receive training on how to best pitch their ideas. The finale of the contest will take place on 17 October in Riga, where the ten finalists will present their ideas on the stage with a five minute pitch to the jury and a live audience across Latvia. The live broadcast of the competition will be available on “Delfi.lv”. Viewers will also have the opportunity to vote for their favourite.
Two social entrepreneurs or authors of social entrepreneurship ideas each will receive a cash prize of €4000 to develop their business or idea. The winners are determined by a jury and a live vote of the audience.
The pitch competition “Let the good ideas grow” will take place for the fifth year. Last year, 99 participants entered the competition, and the final winner was the social entrepreneurship initiative “Is it easy to put on trousers?” by Zane Bērziņa from Ogre, which produces specialised clothing for people with reduced mobility, with the aim of making their everyday life easier and helping them to integrate into society. The second winner was “BJMK Rokskola”, a social enterprise from Jelgava offering alternative music education in a supportive environment.
“Winning the pitch competition has given us the opportunity to turn a dream and an idea into reality – we have established a company that has already been granted the status of a social enterprise, created a website – online shop vilbers.com, purchased materials, created production patterns and prototypes. After the publicity of the competition, I have been contacted by countless people through social networks who are very much looking forward to this garment and are happy that finally there will be such a product on the Latvian market, and someone is thinking about the needs of these people,” says Zane Bērziņa, founder of the social enterprise “Vilbers”, after winning the 2023 competition.
The competition “Let the good ideas grow” is organised by the Social Entrepreneurship Association of Latvia in cooperation with Luminor bank for the fifth year with the aim to promote the development of existing social enterprises and new social entrepreneurship ideas, as well as to raise awareness about social entrepreneurship ideas and initiatives. The competition is supported by the Charity shop “Otrā elpa”, news portal Delfi.lv and the Development Finance Institution “Altum”, co-financed by the European Union (ESF project number 4.3.3.3/1/24/I/001 “Support for Social Entrepreneurship”).
