Mapping the impact of AI Tides: How AI skilling has supported over 700 social entrepreneurs across Europe

AI Tides: From 30 trainers to hundreds of local changemakers

What if AI wasn’t just for big tech but for communities, changemakers, and local impact? That’s the mission of AI Tides, a train-the-trainer program developed by MinnaLearn and delivered by INCO Entrepreneurs with support from Google.org within the Social Tides initiative. 

During the program, which aims to empower Europe’s social economy with AI skills, 30 participants from leading Social Economy Organisations across 12 European countries gained a comprehensive understanding of AI and its practical use cases for social enterprises. Then, each Trainer returned to their local market to train social entrepreneurs, creating further opportunities for AI-related training in their respective countries.

Training for a greater community impact

Trainers noted a variety of reasons for joining AI Tides, but a common theme emerged: nearly every participating organisation aimed to grow its impact and support the success of entrepreneurs and social enterprises in its community.

While training entrepreneurs in their local markets, trainers found that entrepreneurs developed AI experiments to address routine tasks and projects, such as completing final grant reports, planning social media content, and monitoring data, including deadlines, shelf life, and more. 

“Many enterprises addressed waste and stock issues. AI helped them create tools improving efficiency and costs,” said Michaela Valaskova, Manager at GUG.cz. “Others developed manuals for working with disabled colleagues to support better communication and expectations. Each experiment was unique.”

These introductory experiments have already helped entrepreneurs work more efficiently, reduce time spent on repetitive tasks, and focus their time and attention on higher-impact activities. 

“Treat AI as a support tool rather than a replacement for people,” advised Danilo d’Elia, Engineer at Associazione Economia Sociale Digitale. “Used carefully and ethically, AI can save time, improve services and actually strengthen an organisation’s social mission instead of weakening it.”

Mark Hillen, Co-Founder and Chief of Innovation at Social Enterprise NL, also reflected on the importance of strategically planning AI adoption: “It's not about if you adopt this, it's about how and when. Make a simple development plan with feasible steps. Invest in making your team enthusiastic.”

Balancing innovation with responsibility in AI adoption

Trainers noted that during these training sessions, entrepreneurs became aware of more than just the opportunities made available by AI tools; they also learned about the risks and ethics of using AI tools. 

“It is important to maintain critical thinking, make careful judgments, and thoughtfully select the tasks delegated to AI,” said Helena Bremer, Social Innovation Specialist at Shipyard Foundation. 

With over 700 entrepreneurs trained in AI skills, AI Tides’ impact will continue to grow beyond the scope of the program. Some participating organisations report that they will continue training entrepreneurs and their community, and others have adopted AI solutions to make their daily work more efficient. 

“This experimentation made us realise how important it is to continue the training path we have started, so from 2026 we will offer training programmes with different levels of complexity dedicated to the application of AI in the various contexts of the social cooperative economy,” said Danilo d’Elia at Associazione Economia Sociale Digitale.

Our ongoing commitment

Beyond AI Tides and the Social Tides initiative, INCO remains committed to supporting AI skilling throughout Europe, for social entrepreneurs and the future workforce. To learn more about INCO’s work and to stay updated on AI training efforts, visit the INCO Group website.