Digital Academy
for Diverse Founders
Digital Academy to Advance Social Entrepreneurship
Unlocking the next generation of changemakers
The Digital Academy to Advance Social Entrepreneurship (DA4SE) is a bold new learning initiative by Jellycorn, in partnership with XOCO, the Agency for Innovation & Entrepreneurship, and Unconform, and co-funded by the European Union.
Our mission: to empower underrepresented founders and social innovators to build ventures that make the world fairer, greener, and more inclusive.
A new kind of learning experience
DA4SE isn’t a typical online course. It’s a creative, story-driven learning journey — designed for those who want to turn ideas into impact.
Through short, high-energy videos, interactive exercises, and real-life stories from diverse entrepreneurs, participants will discover practical tools to start, grow, and sustain purpose-driven businesses.
All Academy content will be free and open-access, built on a YouTube channel and a digital hub that anyone can explore, learn from, and adapt.
Why it matters
Access to the right knowledge, networks, and role models should not depend on privilege.
By centering the voices of underrepresented and overlooked founders — those whose ideas and potential too often remain unseen — DA4SE aims to reshape what entrepreneurship looks and feels like, making it more inclusive, relatable, and globally connected.
How it works
Throughout 2026, the Academy will roll out a mix of:
Founder stories & expert insights from diverse backgrounds;
Practical tools for business design, storytelling, funding, and leadership;
Live sessions & community events that spark collaboration and learning.
The content is being co-created with industry experts and role models through an open Call for Nominations, ensuring the learning experience reflects real-world wisdom and diverse lived experiences. Submit your nomination here!
Our collaboration
DA4SE is led by Jellycorn UG (Germany) in partnership with:
XOCO Unlimited e.V. (Germany) – technical development, platform hosting, and digital learning design
Agency for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (Austria) – creative storytelling and dissemination
Unconform Community (Netherlands) – user testing, design feedback, and community outreach
Together, we’re blending creativity, inclusion, and entrepreneurship to build something new: a digital learning space where everyone can see themselves as a changemaker.
Open for all
All Academy resources will be published under a Creative Commons licence (CC BY 4.0) — allowing educators, NGOs, and training institutions to freely use, share, and adapt the materials for their own audiences.
Follow Jellycorn on LinkedIn and regularly check this web page to stay up to date, join upcoming events, and be among the first to experience the Academy when it goes live.
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
Event Series
Join the Digital Academy Live
To celebrate the launch of the Digital Academy for Social Entrepreneurship, we’re bringing together entrepreneurs, innovators and practitioners from around the world for a series of three free online events.
Across the series, we’ll explore what it takes to build solutions that matter, sustain yourself while doing work that matters, and design more effectively with the people and communities you seek to serve.
Come for one session or join us for all three. Participation is free, but registration is required.
Building What Matters
Practical lessons for turning social impact into something that lasts
29 September 2026 | 11:00–12:00 CEST | Online
What does it really take to turn an idea for change into something that creates meaningful and lasting impact?
Join Clôd Baumgartner, Cláudia Guerreiro, Jovana Poepelt, Nakshathra Suresh and Jessica Espinoza for a candid, practical conversation about what they have learned from building ventures, developing new ideas, working across organisations and communities, and turning purpose into action.
We’ll explore questions that many social entrepreneurs face: How do you know you’re solving something that really matters? What changes when an idea becomes an organisation? How do you build something that can survive, grow and create impact beyond you?
You’ll hear different perspectives from entrepreneurship, innovation, conscious marketing and investing, with space to ask your own questions and connect with others building and supporting solutions for social and environmental change.
The event will also mark the official launch of the Digital Academy for Social Entrepreneurship. You’ll get a first look inside the Academy and immediate access to explore it yourself.
Featuring:
Clôd Baumgartner — Entrepreneur, Innovation Strategist & Educator
Cláudia Guerreiro — Founder, Conscious Marketing Movement
Jovana Poepelt — Founder & CEO, Vivatra
Nakshathra Suresh — International Cyber & Tech Safety Entrepreneur
Jessica Espinoza — Entrepreneur & Investor
How Do You Keep Going Without Burning Out?
Founder resilience, wellbeing & sustainable leadership
1 October 2026 | 17:00–18:00 CEST | Online
How do you keep building something that matters without exhausting yourself in the process?
Join Teresa Riosa, Dr. Sharon Attipoe-Dorcoo, Nathasha Dharmasena and Jessica Espinoza for a candid conversation about the realities of sustaining yourself while leading, building and working towards social change.
We’ll explore questions many founders and changemakers face: How do you recognise when commitment is becoming unsustainable? What actually helps build resilience when uncertainty and responsibility are part of the job? And how can we create ways of working that allow both people and impact to thrive over the long term?
Drawing on perspectives from entrepreneurship, leadership, organisational change, wellbeing and systems thinking, our speakers will share practical lessons and experiences — with space to ask your own questions and connect with others navigating similar challenges.
Featuring:
Teresa Riosa — Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging Specialist | Integral Coach & Facilitator
Dr. Sharon Attipoe-Dorcoo — Founder, TERSHA | Responsive Strategist & Systems Thinker
Nathasha Dharmasena — WEF Global Shaper & Social Innovator
Jessica Espinoza — Entrepreneur & Investor
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.