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Impact Entrepreneurship: from idea to start-up

Since 2021, the ZHAW has been supporting aspiring entrepreneurs – from their first glimpse behind the scenes of a start-up, through the development of their own idea, and all the way to setting up their own business.

Sustainable Development Goals

4 Quality education 8 Decent work and economic growth 9 Industry, innovation and infrastructure 12 Responsible consumption and production 17 Partnerships for the goals

At awards ceremonies, in polished pitch presentations and on promising websites, numerous start-ups showcase their companies and products. As part of ZHAW Sustainability Safaris, founders open the doors to their workshops and offices and talk not only about what has worked, but also about the challenges they have faced and moments of failure. This glimpse behind the scenes lies at the heart of Impact Entrepreneurship, through which the ZHAW Sustainable Impact Programme.

Two people wearing face masks are sitting on the floor in front of a red wall. The person on the left is repairing a pram, whilst the person on the right is using a laptop.
The Swiss start-up loopi offers a sustainable pram subscription service. It has designed its own modular pram, which is repairable, reusable and recyclable. Parents can hire the pram rather than buy it and exchange it or return it as their child grows.
A paint bucket is filled with yellow mortar, which is mixed with a black powder using a mixing machine.
The Swiss start-up KohlenKraft, based in Winterthur, is developing a carbon-negative additive for building materials (known as a “climate additive”) based on biochar. In doing so, the company is helping the construction industry to significantly reduce the carbon footprint of materials such as plaster and to manufacture climate-positive products

Three formats supporting the journey to establishing a new company

As part of a Sustainability Safari, students and staff visit sustainability-focused companies in the Zurich region several times a year and see for themselves how a business model works in practice, or sometimes does not.

Those who wish to develop an idea of their own afterwards can apply for the Sustainability Booster, a two-month programme featuring workshops, individual coaching and a final pitch before experts and investors. The three strongest teams are then granted six months’ access to the ZHAW’s RUNWAY Startup Incubator,  including a co-working space, further coaching and access to the network.

Portrait von Francesco Bortoluzzi, Leiter ZHAW sustainable

Francesco Bortoluzzi

Head of Sustainability Programmes, ZHAW sustainable, President's Office

“Impact Entrepreneurship is essentially a continuous pathway from inspiration to company formation: first the Safari, which demonstrates how sustainable business models emerge in practice, then the Booster, which turns an idea into a concept, and finally the RUNWAY Startup Incubator, which transforms that concept into a business.”

Numerous participants from various universities

By the end of 2025, 669 people had taken part in Sustainability Safaris and 243 had completed the Booster programme, amounting to 912 participants since the programme was launched in 2021. The programme’s impact extends beyond the ZHAW: students from ETH Zurich and the University of Zurich also participate in the Booster programme, underlining its cross-institutional nature. The Institute of Innovation & Entrepreneurship (IIE) at the School of Management and Law is responsible for implementing the project on behalf of ZHAW sustainable.

Selected supported start-ups

Since 2021, the Safaris, Booster programmes and RUNWAY Startup Incubator have given rise to several start-ups that are now well known beyond the ZHAW:

  • KohlenKraft – climate-positive construction materials
  • Borobotics – geothermal drilling technology
  • Wonderfill – sustainable beverage stations
  • Onedu – midwifery education for greater participation
  • loopi – subscription-based prams
Education Research & Transfer School of Life Sciences and Facility Management President's Office School of Engineering School of Management and Law Wädenswil Winterthur Zurich

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