20 Years of the Get active Social Business Award

What started off under the name of “Ideas Against Poverty” in 2007 has, over the past two decades, grown into a leading platform for social entrepreneurship in Austria. September 11, 2026, marked the 20th anniversary of the Get active Social Business Award (GASBA).

GASBA brings together the worlds of business, academia, and the media. The GASBA Awards are organized jointly by WU Vienna, Coca-Cola Austria, Der Standard, EY-Parthenon, and BEN DORO DAD to support social innovation and help social entrepreneurs turn promising ideas into successful ventures. The anniversary gala in WU Vienna’s Ceremonial Hall gave guests an opportunity to take a look back at the initiative’s development and its contribution to social innovation. Among those in attendance were the initiative’s founders, long-time supporters and advisors, as well as representatives of successful GASBA projects.

More than an award: Nurturing ideas with a lasting impact

From the outset, GASBA was designed to be more than just another award: Supporting participants in developing their ideas and business plans and giving them access to experts and a strong network spanning business, academia, and the media has always been an integral part of GASBA.

The long-term impact of GASBA is reflected in the many organizations whose development was launched or accelerated through the award. These include Three Coins, Grow Together, Sindbad, PATHfindr, gabarage, Die Tafel Österreich, Teach For Austria, NACHBARINNEN, Hobby Lobby, More Than One Perspective (MTOP), and R.U.S.Z.

Looking back at the initiative’s achievements, Michael Meyer, professor of nonprofit management at WU Vienna and co-founder of GASBA, says, “Twenty years of GASBA have shown us that there is tremendous innovative potential among Austria’s people when it comes to addressing social challenges. All they need is a little room to experiment, financial incentives, support, and recognition. Together with our partners, we’ve built a strong coalition that has played a key role in establishing and strengthening the social enterprise ecosystem and has left a lasting imprint on Austria’s broader social innovation landscape.”

Academic research has confirmed the social impact of the winning projects. Social return on investment (SROI) analyses conducted at WU Vienna indicate an average social return of €3.95 for every euro invested.

“The past 20 years have shown what is possible when knowledge, commitment, and the right partners come together behind a good idea. At WU, we are proud to contribute our expertise and support people in developing innovative and sustainable solutions to social challenges,” said WU Rector Rupert Sausgruber at the anniversary celebration.

Even projects that did not receive an award benefited from GASBA’s network and the visibility afforded by a GASBA nomination. The evolution of the competition also mirrors shifting priorities in Austria’s social innovation landscape. While the early years focused primarily on poverty and employment, later editions increasingly addressed forced displacement and social integration. During the pandemic, attention turned to COVID-19 and gender equality, while more recent projects have focused on care, education, and artificial intelligence.

Today, around 64 percent of GASBA winners from the past 20 years remain active, and nearly one in three submitted projects now operates beyond Austria’s borders.

Peter Vandor, founder and director of the Center for Social Entrepreneurship and Social Innovation (SESI) at WU Vienna and founder of the Social Impact Award (SIA) says, “Austria’s social business landscape has come a long way over the past two decades. Today, we estimate that there are more than 2,500 social enterprises working across a wide range of fields, with diverse impact models and organizational structures, ranging from small startups to established employers. Yet access to financing, entrepreneurial expertise, and talent, particularly in the early stages, remains a major challenge. This makes initiatives such as the Get active Social Business Award all the more important. They invest at a stage when many others are reluctant to take on the risk and effort involved. The benefits extend far beyond the organizations that receive support. Successful examples raise the profile of social entrepreneurship as a career path, inspire others to take action, and demonstrate the enormous potential of new ideas for advancing our society.”

GASBA anniversary awards for the best of the best

To mark the 20th anniversary, former GASBA-winning projects were invited to compete once again in the “Best of GASBA” competition. The prize winners were selected through an online vote by an independent anniversary advisory board composed almost exclusively of individuals who have supported GASBA for many years as members of its advisory board. The recognition award winners were selected by a jury consisting of Michael Meyer, Christian Horak, Philipp Bodzenta, Karin Bauer, and Stefan Schöggl.

Three projects received awards at the anniversary event:

MindEcho, winner of GASBA 2025, is developing an AI-powered app that translates the unique vocalizations of people with limited speech abilities into understandable spoken language.

Grow Together, winner of GASBA 2013, supports families facing severe psychosocial challenges from the birth of a child onward through attachment-based, mobile support services.

NACHBARINNEN, also a 2013 GASBA winner, supports socially isolated women through guidance in their native language, educational assistance, outreach counseling, and pathways to employment.

Recognition awards for long-standing commitment were presented to Verena Augustin (0·8·16 – alles, außer gewöhnlich), Gabriele Gottwald-Nathaniel (gabarage), and Sonja Mitsche (4everyoung).