Impact Pioneers ’26 Europe Leadership Programme
Program: Impact Pioneers ’26 Europe
Organization: Swedish Institute
Location: Online and Stockholm, Sweden
Schedule: May to November 2026
Application Opening: March 2026
Funding: Free of charge
Impact Pioneers ’26 Europe is a leadership programme for leaders and practitioners working to strengthen local entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystems. The programme combines weekly online sessions with a one-week onsite experience in Stockholm and is designed around exchange with international peers and insights from Sweden’s entrepreneurship and innovation environments.
Program Overview
The programme runs across 8 weeks and focuses on connecting leaders who enable entrepreneurship and innovation. Its thematic focus changes from year to year, while its learning goals remain centred on peer exchange, new insights from entrepreneurship and innovation enablers, first-hand experience of the ecosystem in Stockholm and Sweden, and long-term relationship-building with Swedish foreign missions, entrepreneurs, and organisations seeking to expand international reach, growth, and impact.
It is aimed at leaders and enablers working in organisations and networks that want to improve how they support entrepreneurs whose businesses relate to sustainability and green transition. The programme also states that, in the longer term, it contributes to SDG 8 by promoting entrepreneurship, creativity, and the growth of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises.
What Is Included
✓ Participation in the learning programme
✓ Flights to and from Sweden for the Sweden week onsite visit
✓ Accommodation, meals, transportation, and insurance while in Sweden
✓ Access to online networking, sharing, and masterclass sessions
✓ A one-week onsite programme in Stockholm, Sweden
Eligibility
• The programme is open to entrepreneurship ecosystem leaders and practitioners
• Applicants should work in organisations and networks that want to develop support for entrepreneurs with businesses related to sustainability and green transition
• In 2026, the programme countries are Armenia, Azerbaijan, Estonia, Georgia, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Sweden, and Ukraine
• Governmental employees in Georgia are not eligible to apply
• Ukrainian applicants who reside outside of Ukraine are also eligible to apply
• Applicants must be citizens of one of the programme countries
• Applicants’ organisations must be based in one of the programme countries
• Alumni of SIMP, She Entrepreneurs, SI Leader Lab, and other similar SI Leadership programmes are eligible to apply
Programme Structure
The programme is scheduled from May to November 2026. Participants are expected to spend around two hours per week in online activities, including sharing sessions and work on a personal project, and they must also be able to join the one-week onsite module in Stockholm in September 2026.
Its three programme components are online networking, sharing and masterclass sessions; Sweden Week at the end of September; and a final “Way forward” component in which participants make a plan to put their new skills and network into action. Participation in Sweden Week is only for participants who have successfully completed the previous programme components.
Selection Process
The Swedish Institute states that it first checks whether all formal requirements are met. It then evaluates candidate qualifications, experience and ambition in relation to the programme objectives, organisation relevance and fit, and the potential for the candidate and/or organisation to support Swedish actors and entrepreneurs in expanding their international outlook. The final stage also considers overall group composition, including distribution across countries, individual and organisational profiles, and gender. (Svenska institutet)
Application Process
Applications open in March 2026, and the page states that all relevant details for the open call will be updated by 2 March 2026. The application form link will also be shared with the updated call for applications.
