New WWF Fellowship for Social Entrepreneurs

WWF wants to stop the worldwide destruction of nature and create a future where humans live in harmony with nature. To achieve this, WWF primarily focuses on two themes: biodiversity and the use of resources. This will ensure the integrity of the world’s major eco-regions and bring the ecological footprint of humanity to a sustainable level. Particular focus is placed on climate protection and the use of forests, fisheries and agricultural areas.
WWF Switzerland is seeking projects that contribute to:

• significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions in Switzerland or abroad
• the introduction of ecological criteria into the global production chain of consumables such as fish, palm oil, sugar, soybeans, cotton, wood and beef that ensures a more sustainable consumption
• improve the protection of priority river reaches, national wildlife corridors and protected areas in the Alps (Lower Engadine, and Wallis Sottoceneri)

Persons with entrepreneurial ideas addressing those challenges can win a Hub Zurich WWF Fellowship. The fellowship program recognizes one winner and two runner-up initiatives. The winner will receive CHF 30.000 seed-funding (runners-up: CHF 7500), 1 year unlimited Hub membership (24 / 7 access to the premises of the creative hub in Zurich) and access to the communities of WWF Switzerland and Hub Zurich.   

The idea of the winner has to be an initiative with an entrepreneurial approach that aims to bring about fundamental change. The idea should therefore:

• effectively contribute to achieving the objectives mentioned above
• be highly innovative
• be designed to be long term, and financially self-sustaining
• be an effective solution that can be realized professionally
• be scaled, if successful, to achieve the greatest possible societal value

Ideas can be submitted until January 8th, 2012. In December a workshop is being held to support persons with an idea to develop a concept with the decisive kick.