Adie, from France, and School4All, from Hungary, have been awarded the first and second prizes in the third edition of the Social Innovation Tournament, a competition organised by the European Investment Bank Institute to reward and promote innovative initiatives with an ethical or environmental impact in the fight against social exclusion.
This year’s edition took place in Madrid in cooperation with the IE Business School on 17 October.
Blue Badge Style from United Kingdom won the Special Category Prize on urban environment.
Adie, an initiative that aims to launch social microfranchise networks designed to offer turnkey business models to low-income entrepreneurs, and Blue Badge Style, a style website and app for disabled people that allows users to explore travel options, restaurants, theatres, sporting arenas and retailers, will receive EUR 25 000. School4All, which organises and creates opportunities for the inclusion of physically or mentally disabled children in public schools, will receive EUR 10 000.
In addition, four projects – Career Moves (Austria), Filisia (Greece), Hello Mum (Hungary) and PinkLime Social Business (Romania) – have received a voucher to benefit from subsequent mentoring services from practitioners in the field.
Roman Escolano, Vice-President of the European Investment Bank said: “The goal of the Social Innovation Tournament is to help us reap the full benefits of innovation processes thanks to the integration of innovative solutions into our day-to-day lives. This will also improve our growth potential and ensure that economic growth is inclusive and reaches those people who have suffered most the dramatic effects of the financial crisis.”
Sophie Robin, President of the Jury, thanked all the finalists for their participation, congratulated the winners of this third edition and emphasised the quality of the projects presented by the participants, which presented a very difficult task for the Jury.
The Social Innovation Tournament was established in 2012 by the EIB Institute. It sponsors entrepreneurs whose primary purpose is to generate a social, ethical or environmental impact. Projects are typically related to combating unemployment and the marginalisation of disadvantaged communities and promoting access to education.
Fifteen finalists from nine countries had initially been selected for the Tournament from 171 proposals submitted by applicants from 26 countries.
During the Tournament, the finalists had to present and defend their project before a Jury composed of seven social innovation specialists chaired by Sophie Robin (Stonesoup Consulting) and also including Paula Almansa (Impact HUB), Olivier de Guerre (PhiTrust), José Tomás Frade (Former EIB staff member), Rémy Jacob (First Dean of the EIB Institute), Meredith Niles (Impetus Trust) and Johannes Weber (Social Venture Fund).
The next Social Innovation Tournament will take place on 24 September in 2015 in Milan, Italy with the call for projects scheduled to start in February 2015.
Background information:
The EIB Institute is part of the European Investment Bank Group and promotes European initiatives for the common good. Since 2012, it has acted as a catalyst for social, cultural, educational and research activities directed towards economic and social development in the EU Member States, EU Candidate and Potential Candidate Countries, and European Economic Area Countries.
http://institute.eib.org/2014/07/fifteen-projects-selected-to-compete-for-the-eibis-2014-sit/
Winners 2014
Adie (France)
The first microcredit institution to be created in France and in Europe (1989), Adie has been helping people excluded from the labour market and the banking system to create their own businesses. Set up in 2009, the Adie Social Microfranchising Initiative aims to launch social microfranchise networks designed to offer turnkey business models to low-income entrepreneurs who lack a viable business project idea or do not want to start up their business alone.
School4All (Hungary)
The School4All organises and creates opportunities for the inclusion of physically or mentally disabled children in public schools in many different cities in Hungary and potentially throughout Europe. Children participate in supervised activities, thus making social interaction easier, fostering a sense of understanding among the non-disabled students and giving schools access to special needs educators several times a week.
Blue Badge Style (United Kingdom)
Blue Badge Style is a style website and app for disabled people that allows users to explore travel options, restaurants, theatres, sporting arenas and retailers that are both “stylish” and disabled-friendly.
Madrid and Luxembourg, 17 October 2014
Press contacts:
EIB: Matilde del Valle Serrano, m.delvalle@eib.org, +352 437983154
Website: www.eib.org/press – Press Office: +352 4379 21000 – press@eib.org
