The Global Innovation Challenge is run by Social Shifters, a non-profit company and regulated Scottish charity (Charity No. SCO51121) that works with young leaders, innovators and entrepreneurs worldwide. Each edition awards grant funding to youth-led projects and startups that are already tackling a social or environmental issue on the ground, and every entry must contribute to at least one of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The 2026 edition opened for submissions on 1 June 2026 and closes on 31 August 2026 at 5pm UTC, with scoring across September and October, finalists announced in October, pitching in November and winning founders announced in December. Beyond the grants, everyone who registers gets free learning resources and a place in a community of young social leaders; Social Shifters reports 122 countries reached, 5,186 founder teams supported and 2,851 solutions developed through the challenge. Participation runs online, so no relocation is involved.
Benefits & funding
- Multiple grant awards of up to $15,000 USD for youth-led projects and startups delivering social or environmental impact in communities.
- Free learning resources from the moment of registration: elearning, videos and downloadable tools covering idea generation, project planning, fundraising, demonstrating impact and storytelling.
- Connection to a global community of young social leaders.
- Pitch coaching for the founders selected as finalists, ahead of the November finals.
- Access to further opportunities as founders progress, including paid work, fellowships, networking and learning experiences.
Eligibility
- Founders leading the startup or project must be between 18 and 30 years old at the time of submission and must hold clear decision-making authority, so the venture is genuinely youth-led.
- The startup or project must address a clearly defined social or environmental issue and must already be delivering some measurable social outputs and impact.
- The idea must contribute to at least one of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
- Open worldwide; the challenge page sets no nationality or residency condition, and past award recipients come from Singapore, Mozambique, Germany, Mexico and Kenya among others.
- No degree, field of study or years-of-experience requirement is set.
Can you apply?
Worth a closer look
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Age requirement
18–30 yrs
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We only check the criteria we have data for. Always confirm full eligibility on the official page before applying.
Application process
- 1Register on the challenge page, which opens the free learning resources straight away.
- 2Confirm both hard conditions: founders aged 18 to 30 with decision-making authority, and a project already producing measurable social or environmental outputs.
- 3Identify the Sustainable Development Goal or goals the work contributes to, since every entry must link to at least one.
- 4Read the competition guidelines and the FAQ document, both published as PDFs on the challenge page, before starting the submission.
- 5Submit through the challenge entry portal linked from the page (globalinnovationchallenge.awardsplatform.com).
- 6Send the submission in by 31 August 2026, 5pm UTC. Questions go to challenge@socialshifters.com.
- 7Submissions are scored from September to October; finalists are announced in October and receive pitch coaching, pitch at the finals in November, and winners are announced in December.
Program timeline
Early registration opens, with access to the launch event
18 May 2026
Submissions open
1 June 2026
Submission deadline
31 August 2026, 5pm UTC
Submission scoring begins
September 2026
Scoring ends, finalist founders announced, finalist pitch coaching begins
October 2026
Finals and pitching
November 2026
Grant award winning founders announced
December 2026