Grant funding & free support for young impact founders!
Supercharging young social entrepreneurs.
Young leaders, innovators and entrepreneurs everywhere are rising up to take action on the social and environmental issues that matter to them most.
If you’re a young founder (aged 18-30 years) leading a project or startup already delivering social impact on the ground – the Global Innovation Challenge 2026 is for you.
2026 submissions now open!
WHAT’S IN IT FOR YOU?
1) GRANT FUNDING AWARDS
Multiple awards of up to $15,000 USD for genuinely youth-led, up-and-running projects and startups delivering social or environmental impact in communities.
2) FREE Founder Support
We help you build a strong application before you submit. Free learning resources are available from the moment you register, alongside connection to a global community of young social leaders like you.
3) YOUR OPPORTUNITIES GATEWAY
Your journey with us doesn’t end with the competition. As you progress, you’ll unlock incremental access to opportunities including paid work, fellowships, networking and learning experiences!
The Sustainable
Development Goals
To enter the Social Shifters Global Innovation Challenge your idea must contribute to at least one of the United Nations’s Sustainable Development Goals.
Submissions Now Open!
Maximise your chances of success – register today to gain access to exclusive submissions support content, best practices from previous grant award winners and live support sessions.
MEET OUR
COMMUNITY.
"I dedicated my Master's thesis to researching technology that could supercharge plant air purification. Every office, school, and makerspace we've tested has exceeded healthy limits for toxic gases - we knew we had to act."
Tanvi is revolutionizing indoor air quality with nature-powered purification while inspiring the next generation to reconnect with sustainability.
Tanvi Thombre (26) Singapore
"I want Biomec to become the world's reference point for practical, high quality and ecological prosthetics - enabling people to experience life without limitations."
Co Founder of ‘BIOMEC’ - a social enterprise that collects abandoned fishing nets and plastic waste from the ocean and transforms them into affordable, 3D printed prosthetics.
Marta Vania Uetela (29) Mosambique
"I grew up in a place of water abundance where you could drink straight from the lakes and rivers. When I left, I realized how rare this is - and how the very foundation of life on this planet is collapsing."
Benedikt is bringing real-time water quality intelligence to communities worldwide through AI-powered sensors that detect contamination in minutes instead of days.
Benedikt Huber (28) Germany
"As a public transport user, I've experienced first-hand the uncertainty of not knowing which bus to take, where it goes, or when it will arrive. This issue goes beyond inconvenience - it affects people's quality of life, access to jobs, education, and safety."
Regina is digitizing Mexico's invisible transport networks, converting community knowledge into navigable maps and real-time local public travel info to help millions move safely through their cities.
Regina Paredes (28) Mexico
"I believe building infrastructure that enables people to access economic opportunities through business is the surest way of igniting sustainable development in communities like mine."
ReThread Africa is a project developed in Kenya that enables smallholder farmers to turn their agricultural waste into a new revenue stream that could subsidise smallholder agriculture and be the missing link to elevate farmers from the poverty bracket.
Charles Oyamo (30) Kenya
Your 2026 Challenge Journey
FROM 18th MAY
Register Early and Access our Launch Event!
1ST JUNE
Submissions Open!
JULY
Get your submissions in!
31ST AUG
Submission Deadline 5pm UTC.
SEPT
Submission Scoring Begins
OCT
Submission Scoring Ends
OCT
2026 Finalist Founders Announcement
OCT
Finalist Pitch Coaching Begins
NOV
FINALS! Pitching Begins
DEC
Grant Award Winning Founders Announced
AM I ELIGIBLE?
Social Shifters Global Innovation Challenge 2026 is designed to give young impact founders a platform; providing grant funding awards, connection to a global community of high performing young leaders, and exclusive exposure through some of the worlds biggest brands.
To be eligible to apply your social startup must be:
100% YOUTH-LED – Founders leading the startup or project must be between 18 and 30 years old at the time of submission and have clear decision making authority.
IMPACT FOCUSED – Startups and projects must address a clearly defined social or environmental issue and must already be delivering some measurable social outputs and impact.
Our incredible
Partners
Social Shifters is supported by some of the worlds leading businesses. Thanks to all of the forward thinking organizations that help us to supercharge the work of young impact founders.
ABOUT SOCIAL SHIFTERS
We exist to support the next generation of leaders, innovators and entrepreneurs – young people everywhere taking action on the social and environmental issues that matter to them most.
We operate on a non-profit basis to provide unique learning experiences, guidance and grant funding for young impact founders.
Learn more about Social Shifters.
