Inspiration

Impact Hub Tyrol

Center for social and ecological innovation

The Impact Hub Tirol has recently been established in Tyrol. It aims to connect people who are striving for a sustainable society in terms of the circular economy and social entrepreneurship.

F.acT: The Impact Hub Tirol opened its doors in June 2021. How did this come about?

Jana Ganzmann: The Impact Hub Tirol emerged from the SETup organization. SETup stands for Social Entrepreneurship Tirol and was founded in January 2019 with the aim of promoting social entrepreneurship in Tirol. Based in the Kulturbackstube bakery and together with the internationally renowned impact investor Charly Kleissner, SETup built up Tyrol's community for social entrepreneurship over the following years. As in the rest of Austria, interest in social entrepreneurship grew rapidly. In order to further increase their impact, support more people and bring expertise on socio-ecological change to Tyrol, the team decided to join the global Impact Hub network in fall 2020. With its successful admission to the network in May 2021, Impact Hub Tirol can now draw on the know-how and expertise of the world's largest network for social innovation with over 17,000 members.

F.acT: What is the objective of the Impact Hub Tirol and what do you offer Tyrolean entrepreneurs and other interested parties?

Jana Ganzmann: We are Tirol's center for social and ecological innovation. We promote sustainable entrepreneurship and collaboration. Together with over 100 Impact Hubs worldwide, we act as a catalyst to accelerate social change.

The mission: implementing ideas together

We inspire, connect and support people and companies to implement ideas that have an ecological and social impact. Our services range from incubation programs for social startups to business consulting for NGOs and companies and regions interested in sustainability.

F.acT: To what extent is your offer also interesting for entrepreneurs in the tourism and leisure industry?

Jana Ganzmann: With the methods we have developed in management consulting, we offer companies the opportunity to understand their own potential in the area of sustainability and to deal with it. The tourism sector in particular is facing major challenges to rebuild the economy in a way that will also benefit future generations. The Impact Hub Tirol offers a network for exchanging ideas with other committed companies and exploring new paths together. We provide support with coaching, networking with experts and suitable pioneering companies both locally and internationally.

F.acT: What are the most important milestones for the Impact Hub Tirol over the next few years? Where should the journey take us?

Jana Ganzmann: The aim of the Impact Hub Tirol is to establish a center for social and ecological innovation in Tirol. The doors will open virtually for the first time in 2021. A dedicated coworking space and event venue will follow in 2022.

Impact Hub Tyrol

Jana Ganzmann studied non-profit, social and health management at the MCI in Innsbruck, specialized in innovation and entrepreneurship methodology and worked in an inclusive start-up incubator in Berlin. In 2019, she founded the precursor organization of the Impact Hub.

Alexander Auer has a degree in environmental and process engineering as well as business administration. During his studies, he was politically involved in student representation at local and national level, founded a student network for ethics and business and holds several voluntary positions.

Johannes Voellenklee is a long-time entrepreneur and spent the last two years at a large NGO as the person responsible for digitalization and innovation. Through his experience in building several, mostly technical start-ups, he brings know-how in the field of digital business models, social innovation and intrapreneurship.

Impact Hub Tyrol

Prepared for what lies ahead in tourism