The 15 finalists of the 2021 Social Innovation Tournament (SIT), the flagship event of the EIB Institute, “got ready for Lisbon” during the SIT Mentoring Bootcamp held in Vienna from 29 to 30 June.

Hailing from nine countries (Denmark, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden) were selected from an outstanding group of 280 candidates in 28 countries.

In Vienna, they participated in a tailor-made training programme with business and social entrepreneurship experts to prepare them for the pitching competition on 7 October in Lisbon where they will present and defend their project before a jury of social innovation specialists and compete for prizes.

To mark the tenth anniversary of the SIT, winning projects in the General Category and the Special Category will be awarded a first or second prize of €75 000 and €30 000 respectively, and an Audience Choice Award of €10 000. In 2021, the Special Category prizes will go to projects focusing on sustainable living. Two projects will be selected to attend INSEAD’s Social Entrepreneurship programme in Fontainebleau, France.