LET’S GROW 2026: A Conference on Social Entrepreneurship, Business, and Sustainable Solutions
LET’S GROW 2026—the conference on social entrepreneurship, business, and sustainable solutions—will bring together social entrepreneurs, civil society organizations, business representatives, investors, and experts in Sofia on October 30. The event will take place as part of the entrepreneurship and technology conference Crossroads. This year, the conference will be more than just that—the final stage for the new generation of social entrepreneurs from the Let’s GO 2026 program.
After months of working on their ideas, business models, and plans, the program participants will take the stage in front of an audience and a jury to present the business behind their cause. In two presentation sessions throughout the day, they will need to demonstrate not only why the problem they are solving is important, but also that they have found a sustainable way to drive social change.
And the decision will be made live. The jury will evaluate the presentations and the business plans developed, and by the end of LET’S GROW, the winners of Let’s GO 2026 will be announced.
From a Good Idea to a Functioning Ecosystem
What is needed to ensure that social entrepreneurship does not remain a series of isolated best practices, but instead becomes a true ecosystem?
One of the special international guests at LET’S GROW 2026 is Angela Achitei, Chair of ADV Romania Group — a social entrepreneur with more than 24 years of experience in developing social enterprises, inclusive employment, and sustainable solutions for communities.
She will present Romania’s experience in building a comprehensive ecosystem for the social economy—from specialized legislation and the “one-stop shop” model, through access to financing and investment readiness, to the management of European and private social investment funds.
The discussion will address one of the key questions facing the sector in Bulgaria as well: how does a good social idea secure the environment, capital, and support it needs to become a sustainable business?
When ESG Meets Social Entrepreneurship
More and more companies are making concrete commitments to social and sustainable impact. But how can ESG avoid remaining merely a set of metrics, policies, and reports?
In the panel “From Metrics to Impact—ESG in Action: Social Enterprises as Business Partners”, the discussion will feature Irina Toncheva from Accenture and Diana Yordanova from Fantastico.
The focus will be on the practical aspects of partnerships between businesses and social enterprises—the opportunities for them to be part of supply chains, corporate social policies, and sustainable business practices.
That’s because purchasing a product or service from a social enterprise can have a much greater impact than a typical business transaction—it can create jobs for people in vulnerable situations, support local communities, and at the same time help companies achieve their social and sustainability goals.
Small Team. Big Marketing.
But what if you have a good idea but don’t have a large communications team or a huge budget?
Etien Yanev, a consultant and lecturer in the fields of artificial intelligence, digital marketing, and personal branding, will demonstrate how AI can become a practical tool for social enterprises.
In the session “Small Team. Big Marketing. How AI Helps Social Businesses Gain Visibility”, participants will walk through a real-world case study—from research and idea generation to content creation, campaign development, and the organization of day-to-day work.
The goal is not to discuss AI as an abstract technology, but as a tool that can save time as early as the very next day and help an organization or social enterprise reach its clients, partners, and communities more effectively.
No Theory: What Social Entrepreneurship Looks Like in Real Life
Not every good idea easily turns into a working model. Behind every success lie difficult decisions, mistakes, changes in direction, and many practical lessons.
This is precisely what the session “No Theory: Stories from the Field” will focus on, as three organizations will speak specifically about situations from their own journeys.
The discussion will feature Yoana Koleva from JAMBA, Georgi Nikolov – Gopeto from the SEED Foundation, and Blagovesta Pugova from “Give Time”.
Their experiences reveal different facets of social change—from creating opportunities for people with disabilities and fostering local communities and youth entrepreneurship to building a large-scale volunteer network to support children without parental care.
We won’t be looking for a universal formula for success here. We’ll talk about real-life cases, real challenges, and the solutions that have actually worked.
And most importantly—the stage belongs to the new social entrepreneurs
At the heart of LET’S GROW are the people who are currently taking the hardest step—turning their cause into a viable and sustainable entrepreneurial model.
The afternoon of the conference is dedicated to the participants in Let’s GO 2026, who will present the business plans they developed during the program to the jury and the audience.
This is the moment when months of work must be distilled into a few compelling minutes: What problem are we solving? For whom? What is our product or service? Who will pay for it? How will we grow? And most importantly—how will each subsequent sale also increase the social impact we’re creating?
At the end of the day, the jury will make its decision, and the winners of Let’s GO 2026 will be announced on the LET’S GROW stage.
But the conference has a greater ambition than simply selecting a single winner.
LET’S GROW creates a space where the civil sector meets the business world, social entrepreneurs meet potential partners and investors, and good ideas get a chance to become sustainable solutions. Indeed, these meetings, new partnerships, the exchange of experiences, and greater visibility for entrepreneurs with a social mission are among the event’s main goals. You can purchase tickets for the event HERE
October 30, 2026 | Crossroads, Sofia
