WSA Young Innovators — Entrepreneurship

WSA Young Innovators is a global award run by World Summit Awards for digital ventures contributing to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. It accepts companies, organizations, student groups, project teams, social entrepreneurs, and individuals whose solutions are launched, functional, in the market, and show recent real-world social impact.

Applications are submitted online and reviewed first by an Online Jury and then a Grand Jury; winners present at the WSA Global Congress. WSA has paused the 2026 Young Innovators call and says it will return in 2027, without publishing an exact reopening date.

Benefits & funding

Submission is free of charge.
Winners present their solutions to experts, impact entrepreneurs, mentors, and investors at the WSA Global Congress and take part in skills workshops and networking.
Winning solutions receive a WSA Winners Seal and promotion through the WSA catalogue, website, social media, newsletters, and press releases.
Winners join WSA’s international community of digital social-impact practitioners.

Eligibility

Applicants may be individuals or teams from any UN or UNESCO member state; no nationality-specific restriction is published.
Individuals must be under 26; for teams, at least one founder and the majority of members must be under 26. The latest published rules use a birth date on or after January 1, 2000.
The solution must have a digital component and contribute to positive social or environmental change aligned with at least one UN Sustainable Development Goal.
The solution must be launched, functional, in the market, have users or customers, and demonstrate real-world social impact; drafts, prototypes, demonstrations, and incomplete solutions are ineligible.
The latest rules require impact within the past three years; solutions in the market for at least three years must show significant new impact developments within that period.
The application must be complete, and project and producer details in the contest database must be in English.

Can you apply?

Open to all applicants

No nationality, residency, education, or experience limits are listed.

Appears to have an age limit “under 26”
confirm in the requirements

Circlebreaker is a free database of global fellowships, scholarships and programs — every one decoded like this.

We only check the criteria we have data for. Always confirm full eligibility on the official page before applying.

Application process

1
Wait for the 2027 call to open and check the new cycle’s rules and dates on the official program page.
2
Register in the WSA contest database and create a solution entry.
3
Prepare the English application covering the problem, solution, target users, competitors, technology, team, measurable impact, business model, and jury test access; an explanatory video is recommended but not mandatory.
4
Submit the complete application online, free of charge, before the published deadline.
5
Eligible submissions proceed through an Online Jury and a Grand Jury; winners are invited to present at the WSA Global Congress.

Program timeline

Application deadline for the most recent completed call.
Oct 31, 2025
Young Innovators call paused during WSA’s transition to WSA 3.0.
2026
Young Innovators call will return; no exact opening date or deadline has been published.
2027