Umbrella500 Impact Awards
Cash and expert support for green and social impact across the region
Each account may enter one award only — choose the one that fits your work best.
- Accepting entries now
- Apply in Arabic, English or French
- Applications close
- 10 September 2026
- Winners announced
- late October 2026
The 2026 Award Categories
Impact Startup Award
Startups creating real impact — environmental or social — already running, or an idea getting off the ground.
Learn more
Green Community Initiative Award
Individuals, groups and local organisations already creating green impact.
Learn more
Green Content Creator Award
Anyone with a story. A short video on a green topic — no venture required.
Learn moreEach account may enter one award only — choose the one that fits your work best.
Umbrella500 believes that impact deserves recognition. Inspired by the same green and circular economy mission that the Green Forward programme advances across the region, and drawing on our own commitment to supporting green change, we created these awards to celebrate the people and communities already making a difference on the ground.
Umbrella500
Owns, funds and administers the awards
Applications, the account and the full prize detail live on the SPARK Innovation Hub.
What you get, and when
Every step pays — and each one pays more than the last.
The Green Forward community
The founders, initiatives and support organisations building the green economy across the region — and you stay in it after October.
A verified profile
Applying earns a verified account on the community platform — credibility that travels with you beyond the awards.
Your story, told
Finalists and winners are featured across Umbrella500 and partner channels. Content creators are credited by name every time their work is used.
Key dates
One shared timeline
- Applications close
- 10 Sep 2026
- Shortlisting — ten finalists per award
- Early Oct
- Finalists pitch live to the panel, online
- Mid Oct
- Winners announced
- Late Oct
Questions
Everything below is drawn from the award rules
What counts as impact?
Two kinds, and many startups are both. GREEN IMPACT covers the circular economy — waste, reuse, repair and recycling — resource efficiency in water, energy and materials, clean energy and emissions, pollution reduction, nature and biodiversity, sustainable production and consumption, and environmental awareness. SOCIAL IMPACT covers reducing poverty, jobs and income for those who need them most, education and skills, health and wellbeing, inclusion and equality, access to basic services, and stronger communities. If your work does not fit any of them, tell us in your own words on the form — the list is there to help you, not to rule you out.
Do I need a registered company?
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.
What if I only have an idea?
An idea-stage applicant is fully eligible to enter the Impact Startup Award. Entry is open to all — and impact that is already happening, and can be demonstrated, scores most strongly. The Green Community Initiative Award is different: it is for initiatives already running.
Do I have to be based in the region?
For the Impact Startup Award you may be based anywhere, provided the startup has a genuine impact connection to the wider MENA region. For the Green Community Initiative Award the activity must take place in a community in the region, and at least one person overseeing it must be based there.
What language can I apply in?
Arabic, English or French. Screening and judging account for all three. The Content Creator video must use Arabic voice-over with English or French subtitles.
Who owns my idea?
You do. Applicants retain ownership of their own ideas, materials and content. Entering grants Umbrella500 and its outreach partner a licence to feature the submitted story and imagery for award publicity — it does not transfer ownership.
The call is open
Applications, the account and the full prize detail live on the SPARK Innovation Hub.