On September 17, we celebrated a sold-out Impact Innovation Day at Impact Hub Leipzig. For an entire day, people from small and medium-sized businesses, startups, civil society, and government listened to one another, joined the conversation, and made new connections. We’re still riding the wave of that energy, and in this Hubdate, we’ll tell you what made the day so special.
In the spotlight this time:
- We look back on Impact Innovation Day and look ahead to 2027.
- Domenic Tröger offers free advice on data protection and IT law.
- The “Planning Business Succession” series begins on October 28.
- SINN Saxony is asking for your vote for the Audience Choice Award.
That was Impact Innovation Day 2026
Michael Fritz kicked off the day with a keynote address that we’ll be talking about for a long time to come. With Viva con Agua, Goldeimer, and the Millerntor Gallery, he demonstrated that social projects can be economically viable. In Leipzig, as he himself put it, his ADHD had him jumping from topic to topic. This provided the perfect kick-off to get the discussions rolling.
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On the Member Stages, members shared what they’re working on in three sessions focused on courage, trust, and collaboration. Impact Hub Leipzig now has members throughout Germany, including Matthias Bergmann, “Chief Baking Officer” at the Thuringian bakery Bergmann.
In an in-depth interview, Olympic skeleton athlete Susanne Kreher and triathlete Andreas Niedrig spoke with our CEO, Martin Stöhr, about the cost of peak performance and what recovery depends on. The workshops then delved deeper into specific topics, such as crowdfunding with Startnext, paths into politics with JoinPolitics and Luca Piwodda, and business succession with Christian Lenk from S-Beteiligungen. Anyone who needed to stretch their legs in between sessions played Street Racket in the parking lot.
Many of the best conversations took place between program events. The DenkMahl coffee bar was packed all day long, and many of the encounters there led to new connections. In the evening, we moved on to the Plagwitz Market Hall and had a wonderful evening there.
The event was made possible financially by Sparkasse Leipzig and S-Beteiligungen. Techniker Krankenkasse, Viva con Agua, Green City Solutions, Bergmann Bakery, nucao, Woody Booth, ellzwei, and DenkMahl enriched the event with their contributions. You made it what it was. Thanks to everyone who was there!
We’ll be celebrating the next Impact Innovation Day on September 9, 2027. Early-bird tickets sell out fast.
Updates from the Hub
Free Legal Office Hour with Domenic Tröger
Are you founding or building a startup and wondering whether your data processing complies with the GDPR, what your platform’s terms of service should look like, or how to use AI in a legally compliant manner? Our member Domenic Tröger is an attorney at the law firm Lit Legal and advises digital companies on exactly these issues. On October 15, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., he’ll be offering free 30-minute one-on-one consultations at the Hub. You can select your time slot directly when you register.
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Planning Business Succession: Kickoff on October 28
Anyone who wants to hand over their business must first set it up so that it can run without the person at the helm. That takes years. But it is precisely this work that makes a business sustainable for the future. The DIHK Report 2025 illustrates just how wide the gap is: in 2024, 9,636 businesses were looking for a successor, but only 4,016 people were willing to take one over. That means there were more than two businesses for every person.
Together with Wertsteiger, we’re inviting business owners and people interested in taking over a business to the Impact Hub. The series kicks off on October 28, with the next session on November 25. Both sessions begin at 3 p.m. You can book the sessions individually or together; tickets start at 25 euros. We have canceled the originally planned kickoff on September 23. If you have already purchased a ticket for that event, it is valid for the new kickoff on October 28.
More events at the Hub
- Oct. 28: Deep Dive Climate Action: Mobility in Businesses, Smart City Lab Leipzig
- 30.10. Lunch & Learn: Sustainability
- 27.11. Lunch & Learn: Social Innovation
- Nov. 30: Impact and Communication, Smart City Lab Leipzig
News from SINN Saxony
SINN Saxony is a project of Impact Hub Leipzig with partners from the nonprofit and social sectors. It promotes social innovation in Saxony.
Vote for the SINN Innovation Award
For the third time, SINN is honoring projects, companies, and initiatives that strengthen social cohesion in Saxony. You can help decide the winners of the audience awards. Twenty finalists are up for consideration in the categories of Social Initiatives & Nonprofit Projects and Social Entrepreneurship. SINN will present the awards on October 27 at the Saxony Social Innovation Forum in Leipzig.
All SINN Events at a Glance
- Oct. 6 : From Problem to Experiment: Workshop on Creative Solutions in Social Work, Dresden
- Oct. 6: SINNkubator Regional Meeting, Leipzig
- Oct. 27: Saxony Social Innovation Forum, Leipzig
- Oct. 31: SINN at ANIMA ET MORS, a fair on life and death, Dresden
- 06.11. Online Symposium: Climate Change as a Challenge for Social and Organizational Transformation
- November 12, Innovationsbühne, Dresden
- Nov. 16–17 SINN at the State Prevention Day
- Nov. 27: Lunch & Learn: Social Innovation, Leipzig
- 01.12. SINN Online Workshop: Solutions for Your Challenges
Subscribe to the SINN Newsletter · Follow SINN on LinkedIn
Do you have any questions or feedback? Email us at leipzig@impacthub.net or stop by the Hub at Naumburger Straße 25.
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