Call for Application: nefia/BAN – Social Entrepreneurship Weekend – November 6-8, 2020

nefia and the Bosch Alumni Network are launching a Social Entrepreneurship Weekend in Switzerland – for nefia, Robert Bosch and Mercator Alumni exclusively

Mercator and Bosch Alumni have one thing in common: the Mercator and Bosch Foundations once chose them for their outstanding skills, their drive and their commitment to social change.

Startups and entrepreneurs are increasingly seen as crucial agents to bring about this social change. However starting a (social) business is a very rare career path in our alumni group and a lot of ideas with a high potential social impact are never realized.

We now seek to bring 30 alumni from all over Europe together for a Social Entrepreneurship  Weekend in Switzerland. In just 54 hours, you will work on your social business ideas and experience the highs, lows, fun, and pressure of the startup life. Experienced mentors and cofounders will support you in putting your ideas into practice. With other like-minded alumni, you will get the chance to dig deeply into the question how you can create or further develop business models that serve the public good. You may apply with a concrete social business idea or with no idea at all. If you are interested to learn how to put social entrepreneurship into action, this weekend is for you.

The Social Entrepreneurship Weekend will be based on the format of the global startup weekends. At the beginning of the weekend, participants pitch their ideas. The group votes on the 5 ideas which are to be further developed in small teams and with the support of experienced coaches. The weekend climaxes in the pitches to a jury and the selection of the winning team.  

Where: Zurich, the home of Switzerland’s infamous innovation (event space: Coworking Lounge Tessinerplatz, accommodation: youth hostel Zurich) – should travel not be possible due to Corona, we will host this weekend online.

When: November 6 to 8, 2020 (Friday evening to Sunday evening)

Costs: Expenses will be covered, including accommodation in four-bed-rooms but excluding travel costs. In justified cases travel subsidies can be granted.

Eligibility Requirements

–        nefia, Bosch or Mercator Alumni

–        Demonstrate a desire and engagement for social change and social impact

–        Interest in intense collaboration with a team

–        Fluency in English

–        Attendance during all sessions of the weekend

–        Currently living in a country in Europe (North, East, South, West)

–        Minimum or/and max

Selection Criteria

In order to fulfill the minimum requirements, a candidate must fulfill our eligibility requirements. We strive for the highest diversity possible when selecting participants to the Social Entrepreneurship Weekend.  To apply for the weekend, please follow the link: https://easy-feedback.de/umfrage/1108324/eek9r6.

Exclusive Q&A session

On June 4, from 7pm-8pm (Berlin-time), we had a Q & A online session in preparation of the weekend. Here you can find the full video recording of the session https://youtu.be/9E-6iugQytA.

Key Dates

–        May 20, 2020: Application released

–        June 4, 2020, 7 pm (Berlin-time): Q & A Session

–        June 22, 2020: Application due 11:59pm Berlin-time

–        November 6-8, 2020: Social Entrepreneurship Weekend

For further questions, email us: socialentrepreneurship@nefia.org

This project is supported by the Mercator Foundation Switzerland.