Umbrella500 Impact Awards · 2026 · Applications close 10 September

Impact Startup Award

Building something that helps people or the planet?Start here.

Cash and expert support for one founder building a business with real environmental or social impact, anywhere in the wider MENA region. Idea stage to fully operating — all of it welcome.

Start your application See the other awards

You'll create an account first — about a minute. One award per account, so pick the one that fits your work.

Apply in Arabic, English or French

Accepting entries now Applications close 10 September 2026 Winners announced late October 2026

Impact, not industry

This award isn't limited to green businesses. If what you're building genuinely helps the environment or genuinely helps people — a circular product, a service that gets someone into work, a solution to a health or education gap — you're in scope. We ask what kind of impact you create, not what sector you're in.

Who it's for

Founders and co-founders building a business around environmental or social impact. Any stage — an idea with real potential, something you've started building, or already operating with impact happening today.

Full eligibility is for members. Create your account — it takes about a minute.

What counts as impact

Two kinds, and many startups are both.

Green impact

Circular economy — waste, reuse, repair, recycling
Resource efficiency — water, energy, materials
Clean energy and emissions
Pollution reduction
Nature and biodiversity
Sustainable production and consumption
Environmental awareness

Social impact

Reducing poverty
Jobs and income for those who need them most
Education and skills
Health and wellbeing
Inclusion and equality
Access to basic services
Stronger communities

If your work doesn't fit any of these, tell us in your own words on the form — the list is there to help you, not to rule you out.

What we'll ask you

The form has three parts and saves as you go, so you can stop and come back.

1

About your startup
2

Your impact

This award recognises startups creating real positive impact, environmental or social, in the wider MENA region. Your impact must be something you set out to create on purpose, and it must come from what your startup actually does.
3

Last details and consent

Almost done. These last few details help us reach you, and the consent below lets us act on your application.

What you win

What this award pays is for members

Create your personal account to see the prize, how it splits between cash and expert support, and the exact weight judges give each thing they score. It takes about a minute.

How your application is judged

Ten finalists are shortlisted, then pitch live online to a panel of green and business expert judges — who read every application in advance, so the session is for the pitch and the questions, not for reading. You can pitch in Arabic or English, and if you can't make the scheduled session we'll find you another time.

Proof it's real: How strong is the evidence that the impact is genuinely happening? Real data, adoption, outcomes.
Clear impact: How significant, credible and clear is the environmental or social benefit?
Clarity and communication: How well are the problem, the solution and the impact communicated?
Innovation: How novel or clever is the approach compared with what already exists?

Entry is open to all. Impact that is already happening, and can be demonstrated, scores most strongly.

Impact that's already happening scores most strongly. Idea stage is genuinely welcome — just be honest about which one you are.

This award's timeline

Key dates

Applications close 10 Sep 2026

Screening and shortlisting Late Sep

Community vote and panel review Late Sep – early Oct

Finalists pitch live to the panel, online Early Oct

Winners announced Mid to late Oct

Everything below is drawn from the award rules

Questions

No. Entry is not restricted by stage, revenue, company registration, or the age of the startup. There is no requirement to show revenue, profitability, or a minimum trading history.

Yes. An idea-stage applicant is fully eligible to enter. Be honest about your stage rather than overstating it: the form has a place for each one, and impact that is already happening and can be demonstrated scores most strongly.

Yes. This award is for founders building a business, whether or not it is generating revenue yet. Eligibility and scoring emphasise impact, not commercial or financial performance.

No. You may be based anywhere, provided the startup has a genuine impact connection to the wider MENA region.

No — each account may enter one award only. Have a look at all three before you start, and pick the one that fits your work best.

The call is open

Create your personal account to apply.

Members see the prize, how judges weight each thing they score, and can apply right up to the deadline.

Start your application

1Name, email, password — about a minute

2Click the link we email you to verify

3You land back here, signed in, ready to apply

Already a member? Sign in

Each account may enter one award only — choose the one that fits your work best.

The Spark Innovation Hub

The awards are hosted on the Spark Innovation Hub — SPARK's community platform, and the reason an account here is worth having after October. It is where the region's entrepreneurs, funders and support organisations are already in one place: founders looking for a first customer, donors and accelerators looking for people to back, and the NGOs and chambers whose job is helping both find each other.

Your account is free to keep, and it stays yours whether or not you win.