An international programme for organisations from Central and Eastern Europe (currently Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Serbia) to boost finance readiness and social impact.
With 13 million people being at risk of poverty in Central and Eastern Europe, Marc empowers bold entrepreneurs to lead change. Backed by ERSTE Foundation, Erste Social Finance, SIMPACT and IFUA Nonprofit, Marc bridges critical gaps in funding and know-how, helping high-impact enterprises grow, adapt, and build a more inclusive, sustainable future.
To reflect on the market differences among countries, Marc partners with local players, who are responsible for the local programmes. However, all local programmes generally offer the following:
Several group trainings or a two-day long boot camp, where our Marc participants receive expert guidance and knowledge sharing on topics such as
As a result of our training scheme, participants will get:
As a result of our mentoring, participants will get:
As a result of our mentoring, participants will get:
As a result of our mentoring, participants will get:
For detailed description of eligibility criteria:
Marc is for you, if you are a health tech or green tech Startup, or have education, culture, or any other social or ecological impact in the focus of your startup. If you are a dynamic enterprise/startup with hardware involved (not tech), and you generate social or ecological impact, Marc is also for you.
Marc is for you, if you lead a non-profit organisation, which runs a significant business, and aims to earn sustainable and growing business incomes.
Marc is for you, if you lead an enterprise that employs people with disabilities or from disadvantaged backgrounds. In some of our countries, you may be called WISE (Work Integration Social Enterprise). Social enterprises providing services also fall into a similar category.
Marc is for you, if you lead a successful business who is looking to generate significant social or ecological impact. But only if you can prove your dedication to this new journey.
Marc is for you, if you operate in sustainable agriculture, organic farming or food production, or organic food sales or catering. If you produce goods with traditional methods or a small environmental footprint, Marc is also for you. But only if you are striving for financial sustainability and looking for ways to grow your impact!
One size does not fit all. Our mentors offer you tailored individual coaching, and we are selecting them for you to match your development needs.
In this report, you may read about Marc accomplishments and Impact in 2024/2025.
Please take into consideration that often we can’t state concrete details due to confidentiality reasons.
Help Autism 
Minimist 
ByeAgain PiciordePlay Rubik 
Merova Health SSH Systems Indipendo Jobs4All Curtea Culorilor MATR Social Cooling iFresh Academia Clar EnergyTrack Within the EcoVolve project (Full project name: EcoVolve: Evolutionizing Ecosystems for Social Enterprises in the CEE Region, Project number: 101188814) funded by the European Union the consortium partners are IFUA Nonprofit Partner, SIMPACT, Erste Social Finance, Erste Group Bank and Impact Europe. Our goal is to develop innovative financial instruments and capacity-building programmes for Social Enterprises and Impact Startups – businesses that create positive social or environmental impact.
EcoVolve strives to address the needs of early-stage social finance markets in selected Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries: Austria, Croatia, Czechia, Hungary, Romania, Serbia, and Slovakia. We are working to build a more supportive ecosystem by addressing both the supply side (through the development of new impact-linked financing tools and the setup of an impact fund) and the demand side (through tailored capacity-building programmes for social enterprises).
New innovative financing structures tailored to the needs of young social finance markets, encompassing impact-linked financial instruments and provision through newly established impact fund (supply side) and related capacity-building services for social enterprises (SEs) (demand side) will be developed.
What will be the major outcomes of EcoVolve?
For further information and publications
📈 After organically growing to 15+ locations and reaching more than 5,000 children every year, Hobby Lobby and Rosa Bergmann is taking the next step in strengthening how it scales its impact.
👧 The organization provides free extracurricular courses for children and teenagers, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds. Through sports, arts, technology, and creative activities, Hobby Lobby creates spaces where young people can explore their talents, build confidence, and connect with others.
As part of Marc, the team is now adding a more structured and strategic layer to this growth, developing clearer frameworks, playbooks, and processes that can help scale their impact in a more predictable way. 🪁
Together with the mentoring team, we’re happy to accompany and support this development!
@hobbylobby.official @rosn_ro
#Marc #Impact #Entrepreneurship #HobbyLobby #Innovation
The expansion and continuation of the Marc Impact Programme is co-funded by the European Union within the EcoVolve project.
0 CommentsComment on Facebook
🌍 What does it take for impact ventures to truly scale?
At How to Web, one message came through clearly: impact-driven businesses grow when the right ecosystem grows around them.
From stronger networks and meaningful partnerships to better access to funding, founders and investors highlighted what it really takes to support impact ventures as they scale, especially across Central and Eastern Europe. 🤝
The region already has the talent, ambition, and ideas. What matters now is creating the right conditions for those ideas to thrive.
🎥 Hear directly from changemakers on what’s needed to move impact forward.
@how_to_web @amplify.ong
#Marc #Impact #HowToWeb #Investing #Entrepreneurship #Ecosystem #CEE
The expansion and continuation of the Marc Impact Programme is co-funded by the European Union within the EcoVolve project.
0 CommentsComment on Facebook
🌍 Building impact takes more than a great idea, it takes the right conversations, the right support, and the right people in the room.
That’s what Impact Builders is all about.
This time, the event focused on social services and education, creating space for founders and investors to connect, share honest insights, and explore how purpose-driven ventures can grow sustainably. 🤝
💡 Many impact builders begin with a strong mission, but turning that mission into a financially resilient organization is often the biggest challenge. That transition requires new perspectives, honest conversations, and guidance from people who have already walked a similar path.
🎥 Watch the video to learn more about the initiative.
@How to Web @AmpliFY ONG
#Marc #Impact #ImpactBuilders #Startup #Sustainability #Mentorship
The expansion and continuation of the Marc Impact Programme is co-funded by the European Union within the EcoVolve project.
2 CommentsComment on Facebook
🌱 Bringing education closer to communities
We recently visited Eduvision together with Libor - a project rethinking how and where learning happens. 🎓
🏫 By building outdoor community classrooms and developing a digital platform, Eduvision connects schools, municipalities, and local communities through real-world, accessible education.
With the potential to reach thousands of municipalities across Europe, they are building a scalable model for more connected, inclusive, and sustainable learning. 🌍
👉 Watch the video and discover their experience in the Marc Impact Programme!
#marcimpact #Eduvision #education #socialimpact #community #sustainability
0 CommentsComment on Facebook
🎤 Pitching for Change: An Evening in Hungary
🚀 At the end of March, our Hungarian community came together for an evening dedicated to one of the most essential skills for any impact-driven founder: pitching.
Pitching is more than just presenting an idea; it’s about clearly communicating your vision, your impact, and your potential. For impact enterprises, this skill is especially critical, as it often opens the door to partnerships, funding, and long-term growth.
During the session, participants had the opportunity to refine how they tell their stories, receive feedback, and build confidence in presenting their ventures in front of others. 💡
🤝 The evening continued with networking, creating space for meaningful conversations, shared experiences, and new connections within the alumni community.
Because behind every impactful idea, there needs to be a story that inspires others to believe in it. 🌱
#Marc #Impact #PitchTraining #Networking #ImpactVenture #Entrepreneurship #Startup
0 CommentsComment on Facebook
Minimist 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗯𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝗰𝗶𝗿𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝘆: 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀.
93% of secondhand inventory never makes it online - because listing unique items is still too manual and costly. Minimist solves this with AI that turns a single product photo into a ready-to-sell listing in seconds. At Marc, we we feel closely connected to Minimist: the venture took shape during our Marc Impact Network (in collaboration with Erste Social Finance), where Anna joined as a late co-founder through the program’s mentoring component building on a prior connection with Stephan. Now, we’re excited to share their next milestone in scaling impact: a €1M pre-seed round, led by Tilia Impact Ventures - part of our Impact Capital Circle - has successfully reached its first closing.
With strong momentum and growing interest, new opportunities are opening up to accelerate the journey even further. There’s still limited room for angels who bring more than capital: experience, network, and a hands-on understanding of scaling circular solutions. For the right investors, this is a chance to contribute real value early and to help shape the infrastructure powering circular commerce.
If this resonates, feel free to reach out to Anna or Stephan Hofmann to explore how to get involved.
We’re excited to see where this journey leads and wish the Minimist team continued success in building what circular commerce needs next!
The expansion and continuation of the Marc Impact Programme is co-funded by the European Union within the EcoVolve project.
0 CommentsComment on Facebook
©MARC – All rights reserved! | Privacy Statement | Cookie policy
