What role can entrepreneurs play in developing new solutions that prevent or address climate change? And how can we build ecosystems that inspire and support entrepreneurs to both dare and grow with the challenge? These are some of the questions that will be explored in this year’s edition of the Impact Pioneers ’25 leadership programme.
2025 theme: ‘Enabling Climate Tech Entrepreneurship’
In 2025 the programme has the set theme ‘Enabling Climate Tech Entrepreneurship’. With ‘Climate Tech‘ referring to new solutions that help individuals, the business and public sector and others, to address both the sources and impacts of climate change. The programme theme is part of the broader area of ‘Impact Entrepreneurship‘, which refers to entrepreneurship that, in addition to financial profitability, also has environmental and/or social benefits as an integral part of its business model.
Target group: Ecosystem builders, enablers and pioneers
The target group for the leadership programme is ecosystem builders, enablers, and pioneers of sustainable entrepreneurship, i.e. individuals who work actively to strengthen the conditions for local entrepreneurship to contribute to solutions that address environmental challenges. These individuals might be working as founding members of startup hubs, as managers of innovation incubators or working in other ways to develop the local infrastructure for entrepreneurship. Based on the idea of promoting systems innovation and cross-sector collaboration in the area, applications from both private and public sectors as well as academia and civil society are welcomed.
Participants of Impact Pioneers in 2024 included private business, academia, public administration and civil society. Pictured here are participants from Estonia, Ukraine and Poland in conversation with each other in connection with a visit to the technology and sustainability event Techarena Zero in Stockholm. Photo: Malin Nerby
4 new countries welcome to apply in Open Call, from 25 March-30 April,Â
The number of countries in the programme has increased from 22 to 26 this year. In addition to Africa, Asia and Europe, TĂĽrkiye and a number of countries from MENA are also included as a pilot for 2025 in the initiative. An Open Call from March 25 to April 30 welcomes applications for the programme. After the call period, an assessment process awaits through which 60 participants will be selected and invited to an 8-week exchange with digital weekly sessions and a visit to Sweden in October.
Co-created programme content with emphasis on building networks
The content of the programme is developed in collaboration with enablers from the Swedish ecosystem in sustainable entrepreneurship and innovation, and the government agency network ‘Team Sweden’. The digital sessions will include tool, case and experience sharing to inspire individual, organisational and ecosystem development. The week in Sweden will take place in Stockholm and have a strong focus on networking across the group as well as the Swedish ecosystem, hoping to create conditions for productive new relationships both within and between countries’ ecosystems.
Impact Pioneers includes networking with guests from the Swedish ecosystem and the Team Sweden network. Pictured here are participants from Bangladesh, Kenya and Thailand during a networking lunch in Stockholm October 2024. Photo: Malin Nerby
An opportunity for synergies and increased collective efforts in the green transition
The programme is carried out within the Swedish Institute’s activities in international development cooperation, and is based on strategies with the aim of strengthening capacity-building partnerships that can promote sustainable development and green transition globally.
The call for Impact Pioneers ’25 opens on March 25. Through it, applicants from 26 countries are invited to take part in an exchange on the Swedish ecosystem for entrepreneurship and innovation to jointly promote the impact of entrepreneurship as an engine of sustainable development.
Read more about the programme and how to apply here: www.si.se/impactpioneers