The Impact Social Cup, a global competition and platform for impact entrepreneurship, has opened the submission window until October 31 to identify startups, small and medium-sized enterprises, freelancers, NGOs, and associations contributing to solving the major social and environmental challenges of our time.
After consolidating in its first two editions as a reference ecosystem that identifies, accelerates, and promotes entrepreneurial talent, a new feature this year is that the competition opens its doors to projects based in Latin America.
Purpose-Driven Entrepreneurship: Redefining the Notion of Success
Impact Social Cup seeks to build tangible, nearby benchmarks for new generations: real people solving real problems. This is how Carmen Pinto and Tomás Garnelo, founders of Impact Social Cup, explain it: “Impact is not something that happens after the business, but it can and must be at its origin. Against the abstract discourses that exist in our society, we want to focus on concrete solutions to concrete challenges.”
“The objective is to bring positive impact to all of society, empower those who solve the great challenges of society and help them become the true references that young people want to aspire to,” they add.
Eight Squads and the Spirit of ‘Coopetition’
Inspired by the Olympic spirit of competition, Impact Social Cup is guided by the principle of cooperation and partnerships among different actors to generate greater impact and jointly tackle the world’s major challenges. Under this philosophy of competition, projects can participate in 8 thematic squads: Sustainable Energy; Social Inclusion and Diversity; Technology and Positive Digitalization; Health and Well-being; Art, Culture and Social Transformation; Education and Employability; Economic Development and Reducing Inequality; and Sustainable Cities and Communities. Each squad is led by eight major companies (Iberdrola, ILUNION, Amazon, AstraZeneca, Ide0, Grupo SEK, and Fundación Caja Rural de Asturias) and eight leading investment funds in the country.
Over the coming months, the selected projects will follow an itinerary designed to push their initiatives beyond the competition, with training, mentorship, and connections to the impact ecosystem. The program includes rural retreats, more than 20 events, an acceleration program, opportunities for media visibility, and connections with investment funds and strategic partners.
As part of this journey, the projects will participate in Impact Training, a training and mentoring program aimed at strengthening their value proposition across the different phases of the competition, which will begin with the announcement of semifinalists in December and continue with squad-based eliminations between January and March.
The itinerary will culminate in the Grand Final on May 7, 2027 in Madrid, where €40,000 in cash prizes will be awarded, in addition to the production of a documentary by Grupo Secuoya and its distribution on platforms, as well as acceleration programs, mentoring with ecosystem members, and international media visibility.
