Apply today.
Be part of the Positive Leadership Accelerator.
We are looking for a select group of social organizations to join the upcoming BNP Paribas Positive Leadership Accelerator.
Are you a social entrepreneur or leader in a purpose-driven organization? You are invited to apply for an upcoming in-person event dedicated to supporting leaders like you with your urgent and significant business challenges. This event, taking place in Paris 2nd-4th December 2026, represents a real opportunity to work alongside diverse leadership talent from BNP Paribas to gain new perspectives and insights on your work. Now more than ever, social organizations are facing increased pressure including economic uncertainty, technological change, and public scrutiny. The Positive Leadership Accelerator will help you develop creative, and successful strategies to the challenges facing your organization, and leave with a concrete action plan you can implement immediately.
Partners who participate see the following benefits:
- Participation in a program that delivers outcomes and impact
- Opportunity to stop and do real work on a challenge that is important to your problem presenter and the organization
- Chance to leverage a proven action-learning process that harnesses the diversity and intellect offered by your assigned team
- Opportunity to develop leadership capabilities through co-learning alongside BNP Paribas leadership talent
What type of social organization can apply?
We are looking for committed social entrepreneurs who are interested in moving a challenge forward in a unique working format that allows for both real results and leadership development. It’s important that the organizations that we select self-identify as social businesses and can demonstrate their social value. Priority will be given to registered social enterprises. While newly formed, not yet profitable, organizations can make strong partners for this experience, it is important that the partners we work with have clear commitment to their social purpose. Problem presenters who attend should be open to new perspectives on their challenge and have a willingness to take new input on board.
This event will be held in person on the BNP Paribas Louveciennes Campus, outside of Paris, France. Applicants are welcome from the broader area, but attendance in person 2nd–4th December 2026 is required.
What types of challenges should you bring?
Partner organizations wishing to participate in the Positive Leadership Accelerator need to identify a significant and urgent business or leadership challenge to be addressed during the program. This challenge should be one that is complex and for which there could be many potential solutions.
Examples include:
- A change in business model
- A strategic leadership decision
- A new product offer or service offer
- Diversifying revenue streams in a changing business environment
- A marketing or communications plan
- Rethinking a process (HR or other)
- Reorganization of a department / organization chart
What is the level of commitment?
Selected social partners will need to identify a ‘problem presenter’ from the organization with ownership of the challenge, who can commit completely to the following:
- Attend a one-hour introductory briefing call with BNP Paribas and Be Leadership to learn more about the experience
- Once participation is confirmed, attend a one-hour connection call with the coach you’ll be working with to help define the challenge that will be in focus, and discuss plans for the immersion
- Host a half-day immersion activity for approximately 15 BNP Paribas leaders on the afternoon of Day 1 (2nd December 2026). This session, held in person at your place of operation or business, is designed to help participants understand your organization, business model and purpose prior to working on your challenge. It could include introductions to your team, experience around the services you offer, interviews with people your organization has supported, and/or an overview of your work and impact. The objective is to provide context and emotionally engage participants around your mission and vision.
- Participate actively throughout the 2-day program (3rd–4th December 2026), working on your identified business challenge alongside your assigned team. On Day 2, your assigned team will work in two separate groups using action learning to define and agree on the core problem you’re facing and your goal. On Day 3, the group will join a a Disruption Lab and use collaborative brainstorming to develop creative strategies and solutions.
- Walk away with a concrete action plan, a practical set of recommendations and next steps developed by your working group that you can take back and implement in your organization.
- As a follow up to the experience, problem presenters will have an opportunity to reconnect with their working group after six months to share progress and outcomes.
Apply today
Please visit the form link below to apply to be a partner for this experience. Applications close 16th October 2026.
BNP Paribas Positive Leadership Accelerator – Social Partner Application Form
Frequently asked questions
Do we need to have an emotionally engaging social purpose?
Groups engage best when they can understand and relate to the purpose of the organization and can clearly see its social impact. It’s important that the organizations we work with self-identify as social businesses and can articulate a passion around their social value.
Do we need to have a real and urgent business problem to work on?
Yes. This is essential. This should be something that is unsolved and important to the organization. The participants come from diverse parts of the business and we want to take them outside their comfort zone as part of this experience, thus we are looking for non-financial challenges. You should not expect participants to be subject matter experts in their challenge domain.
Can you tell me more about action learning?
Action Learning is a process that involves a small group working on real problems, taking action, and learning as individuals, as a team, and as an organization. It helps organizations develop creative, flexible and successful strategies to pressing problems. Action learning is an inquiry-based method and leverages diversity by allowing all participants to use powerful questions to bring new perspectives to challenges. This allows non-subject matter experts to add immense value. As a problem presenter, you will leave the Accelerator with a powerful tool and new skills you can use in your organization. You can learn more about action learning on www.wial.org.
What if our problem presenter isn’t available for the whole experience? Can we still be involved?
The Social Leadership Accelerator creates a real partnership between the partner organizations and the action learning team and they work together on solving the problem. Therefore, to get value from this experience, the problem presenter must be available for the full commitment described.
Do we need to be a registered social enterprise?
While we focus on helping participants understand the societal benefits of the social enterprise model and these organizations are given priority, we are open to working with other purpose-driven organizations including non-profits.
Do we need to be an existing partner of BNP Paribas?
While we are looking to enhance existing strategic partnerships, we are also open to working with new social partners.
Thank-you Thank-you Thank-you! What an incredible experience. So grateful for the opportunity and in such a positive frame of mind heading into 2022! Amazing work by all!
The Be Leadership model is great in linking business with the charity sector, incorporating leadership development while solving a real problem.