RISE Alumni
Geneation 1
Yunus Social Business Balkans • Food • Fight against exclusion
A self-service restaurant that dedicates meal slots to individuals in need, including those experiencing homelessness, and any surplus food will be donated to charitable organizations.
ARNO • Education • Tech for good
A mobile app with interactive courses provides accessible education and encourages collaborative learning, making knowledge acquisition more equitable and empowering users to enhance their opportunities.
Smart Kolektiv • Fight against exclusion • Civic engagement
Legal offices offering free legal services to national minority members while educating them on their constitutional rights.
ARNO • Ecology • Urbanism • Sustainable cities
A local green brand that aims to reduce the amount of waste polluting our environment by designing various products for waste selection in homes and offices.
Nešto Više • Waste valuation • Ecology
This social business will utilize corn stalks as a sustainable resource to produce biodegradable containers, firewood pellets, thermal insulation, and other eco-friendly products, contributing to waste reduction and environmental sustainability.
Balkan Green Foundation • Sustainable agriculture • Responsible trade
Shop connecting small-scale producers and consumers. This initiative facilitates direct producer-consumer connections, ensuring access to fresh products and supporting local agriculture.
Balkan Green Foundation • Circular economy • Cultural & creative industry
This social business mitigates plastic waste’s environmental impact by recycling bottle caps into appealing and functional 3D-printed products. It promotes sustainable practices, reducing plastic pollution, and offers eco-friendly items.
ARNO • Sustainable event • Ecology • Green cities
This social business aims to transform neglected urban spaces into lush gardens and orchards for public and private us. It contributes to environmental improvement, fostering community engagement and open-air events.
Smart Kolektiv • Inclusion through employment • Local handicraft
A platform selling handmade products made by individuals with disabilities, such as carpets, jewelry, and plants. It fosters inclusivity and provides a sustainable income source for those with special skills.
IEC Tehnopolis • Education • Ecology
“Baštaonica” is an ecological educational center offering camps for children and families with inclusive programs promoting environmental awareness, creative thinking, and community engagement.
Smart Kolektiv • Cultural & creative industry • Artistic creation
House of Urnebes is an international meeting place for eccentric artists, unique musicians, and any other people who find inspiration in the diversity of the world.
Balkan Green Foundation • Ecology • Ethical Fashion
This social business aims to promote environmental awareness through clothing featuring impactful messages. Every product sold results in a tree planted, contributing to green public space expansion.
Nešto Više • Ethical fashion • Waste valuation
This social business promotes recycling and upcycling old clothing.
Yunus Social Business Balkans • Local handicraft • Sustainable agriculture
This social business focuses on creating a local product collection point and a branding/packaging line, promoting regional products with their unique identity and branding.
Smart Kolektiv • Local handicraft • Ecology
This social business addresses excessive plastic and paper waste by manufacturing ceramic to-go mugs and distributing them in coffee shops, online, and gift stores, reducing single-use container waste.
Balkan Green Foundation • Ecology • Waste Valuation
This initiative aims to establish a composting facility for organic waste and develop educational programs for primary school students. It addresses global warming, land depletion, unemployment, biodiversity, and groundwater pollution.
ARNO • Humanitarian crisis • Reducing inequalities
This initiative focuses on gamifying the donation process, encouraging the private sector’s support of civic initiatives through branded coin collection devices. These interactive, innovative fundraisers engage citizens while promoting social responsibility.
Yunus Social Business Balkans • Education • Inclusion through employement
This project in Korca introduces novel services centered around an AfterSchool environment, potentially providing positive impacts and new opportunities for the community, especially for students.
Balkan Green Foundation • Local handicraft • Circular economy
This social business transforms the waste of furniture fabrics into attractive and unique products. As such, the endeavour presents an eco-friendly business approach that will contribute to waste valuation.
IEC Tehnopolis • Health care • Tech for good
social business helping Montenegrin patients access medical treatments abroad. They assist in finding suitable healthcare providers, offer aid with documentation and trip planning, and provide post-treatment support. All services are free, promoting improved healthcare access for those in need.
IEC Tehnopolis • Patrimony • Sport
Unlocking Montenegro’s hidden history, this social initiative aims to restore and open up the forgotten Gorazde fortress near Kotor. With nearly 90 Austro-Hungarian fortresses lying neglected, the project seeks to make these historical treasures accessible to tourists and residents, preserving their legacy and beauty.
IEC Tehnopolis • Patrimony • Local handicraft
This immersive workshop celebrates Montenegrin heritage, focusing on traditional cuisine and hidden delicacies. Set in unique, nature-rich locations known to connoisseurs, participants can gather ingredients, learn from seasoned locals, and savor their creations, promoting Montenegrin cuisine.
Yunus Social Business Balkans • Health care • Fight social exclusion
An innovative and integrated psychological service for young people, which is offered according to the community model and focuses on the individual by a group of specialized and experienced social entrepreneurs.
Nešto Više • Education • Employee management
This initiative addresses the issue of a skills gap by establishing a business-educational center. It aims to bridge the gap between theoretical education and practical job requirements, enhancing human resource development and identifying underutilized skills.
Yunus Social Business Balkans • Circular economy • Ecology
A recycling company, that uses recycled and collected plastic waste to create interior, furniture and products made to order, unique and well designed by employing and training marginalized community members and young people in need.
Nešto Više • Sustainable tourism • Ecology
A sustainable tourism agency decreasing and/or preventing negative effects of mass tourism on the environment and cultural heritage, as well as to support the growth of green economy.
Yunus Social Business Balkans • Sustainable tourism • Inclusion through employement
The project envisions creating a sustainable campsite near Darzeza Beach to boost tourism and offer seasonal employment opportunities for local youth. It includes infrastructure for amenities and a private kitchen.
Nešto Više • Waste valuation • Ecology
This social business recycles rubber waste, especially car tires, to produce materials for creating playground foundations, athletic tracks, sports fields, and rubberized asphalt, contributing to environmental sustainability and safety.
IEC Tehnopolis • Artistic Creation • Waste valuation
A one-stop destination for sustainable consumption; a place where you’ll be able to donate goods, buy pre-loved clothes, books and home-décor, and attend educational events on circular economy.
Smart Kolektiv • Publishing • Fight social exclusion
Transforms the waste of furniture fabrics into attractive and unique products. As such, the endeavour presents an eco-friendly business approach that will contribute to waste reduction and income generation for the people involved in the production.
Balkan Green Foundation • Ecology • Local handicraft
Shnosh offers eco-friendly, locally-made, and zero-waste self-care products as an alternative to over-packaged, chemical-laden options. It raises awareness about environmental and health impacts while promoting local sustainability in Kosovo*.
ARNO • Waste valuation • ecology
A store selling food and hygiene products with no additional waste. This initiative encourages conscious consumer choices, reduces costs for producers, and promotes eco-friendly, reusable packaging, fostering a shift towards zero waste in Skopje.
Yunus Social Business Balkans • Healthy diet • Sustainable agriculture
This social business plans to establish a farm with alpine goats and organic crops, primarily aimed at supporting children’s centers run by the Mission Emanuel Foundation. The farm will provide quality agricultural products, training, recreational activities, and income generation for vulnerable children and their families,
Yunus Social Business Balkans • Ecology • Sustainable agriculture
This social business focuses on gathering and selling characteristic products from the Berat region, including olives, grapes, cherries, figs, aromatic plants, and local handicrafts. The aim is to support local farmers and artisans.
IEC Tehnopolis • Sustainable tourism • Local handicraft
The “Taste Nature” web platform and mobile app connect rural households offering healthy food with customers. It allows rural households to sell products online and customers to find quality products with GPS.
Yunus Social Business Balkans • Health Care
This social business provide comprehensive home health services in Shkodra, focusing on elderly patients with chronic illnesses requiring personalized and coordinated multidisciplinary care, enhancing their overall well-being.
ARNO • Education • Employee management
The Green Pinwheel aims to promote youth employment, sustainability awareness, and reinvest profits in green innovations through circular economy projects.
Nešto Više • Sustainable agriculture • Healthy diet
This social business seeks to utilize the underused vegetation and space in their settlement for cultivation and community work, promoting local agriculture and green spaces development.
Balkan Green Foundation • Sustainable agriculture • Urbanism
This social business aims to raise awareness about urban gardening by offering training, guidance, and practical services. It fosters a community of individuals interested in practicing urban gardening, promoting sustainable urban agriculture.
Smart Kolektiv • Fight social exclusion • Inclusion through employement
This social business empowers youth leaving care facilities or foster homes by helping them obtain driver’s licenses and offering employment opportunities in the courier and delivery services, ensuring their transition to independence.
ARNO • Ecology • Responsible trade
This social business converts traditional vehicles into electric and hybrid models, contributing to reduced emissions, environmental sustainability, and the promotion of cleaner transportation options.
IEC Tehnopolis • Sustainable event • Local handicraft
Wineroom connects wine enthusiasts with wineries, allowing visitors to book and pay for winery tours, fostering cultural understanding and promoting local wine traditions, enhancing the wine tourism experience.
Smart Kolektiv • Fight social exclusion • Humanitarian crisis • Sustainable fashion
MIA Handcrafted Bags creates bags out of wasted material from furniture fabrics.
Yunus Social Business Balkans • Local handicraft • Ethical fashion
A social enterprise dedicated to providing employment opportunities for women facing a range of social difficulties, such as abuse survivors, Roma women and single mothers. They do this by making handicrafts in a safe and supportive workspace.