An international programme for organisations from Central and Eastern Europe (currently Austria, Croatia, Czechia, Hungary, Romania, Serbia and Slovakia) 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.
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Merova HealthSSH SystemsIndipendoJobs4AllCurtea CulorilorMATRSocial CoolingiFreshAcademia ClarEnergyTrackWithin 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
⏰ The application deadlines are approaching!
Ready to grow your social or environmental impact venture with the Marc Impact Programme? Now is the time to apply. 🚀
Join a regional accelerator programme where you can strengthen your business model, improve your investment readiness, explore funding opportunities, and connect with experts and impact investors across Central and Eastern Europe. 🌍
Don’t miss the application deadline:
🇨🇿 Czech Republic – October 11, 2026
Apply in the Czech Republic: app.babele.co/application-definition/946
🇷🇴 Romania – October 11, 2026
Apply in Romania: app.babele.co/application-definition/922
🇷🇸 Serbia – October 11, 2026
Apply in Serbia: app.babele.co/application-definition/973
💡 Grow with Marc and apply before the deadline!
#Marc #Impact #SocialImpact #EnvironmentalImpact #CEE #ImpactVentures
The expansion and continuation of the Marc Impact Programme is co-funded by the European Union within the EcoVolve project.
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Two founders from two different countries, sharing the same stage at How to Web! 🌍
We're excited to have David-Alexandru Popescu from OriginBCI 🇷🇴 (Romania) and Julia Dalmadi from Transfood Mission 🇭🇺 (Hungary), both part of the second Marc cohort, joining the Impact Founder Reality Check panel.
They'll talk about what it actually takes to build a business with purpose: the challenges, the trade-offs, and the realities that don't always make it into the success stories.
We're also excited to see more people from the Marc ecosystem on stage: Linda Vasilescu, a mentor at Marc Austria, will join the Who Funds the Fix? panel, while Sonia Oprean from Synerb and Alexandra Dumitrescu from BCR Social Finance will share more about the Marc Impact Program.
If you're curious about what building and funding impact-driven businesses really looks like, come join the conversation!
📍8 October 2026, Face Convention Center, Bucharest
🎟️ Register here: luma.com/ikrguasq?tk
#MarcVentures #MarcImpactProgram #HowToWeb #ImpactEntrepreneurship #ImpactInvesting
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💡 What happens when funding a good project is no longer enough?
That question connected two conversations our Ana Cretu, Director Social Impact Investment at ERSTE Foundation, joined at Impact Europe in Lisbon.
🌍 Impact Europe brings together foundations, impact investors, corporates and other capital providers working to direct more capital towards positive social and environmental outcomes.
Ana's first panel, "The Journey from Idea to Investment," looked at where that journey begins. Together with Eleni Theodorou Admiraal (We Share Forward Foundation), Antoine Veyrassat (Botnar Foundation) and Francisco Palmares (Ageas Foundation), in a conversation moderated by Pedro Cortez (Ageas Foundation), they discussed what needs to happen inside a foundation before its first catalytic capital or impact investment can happen.
The shift can mean rethinking risk, developing new capabilities and adapting internal processes. 🔄
In "From Projects to Systems: The Backbone of Social Resilience," Ana joined Alejandro Álvarez von Gustedt (Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors), in a discussion moderated by Marta Vian Santos (The Equator Company). They explored how funders can help successful solutions become stronger, more sustainable and part of lasting change. 🏗️
A few ideas stayed with us:
👉 There is no single journey from grants to impact investment. Different foundations will use different combinations of grants, catalytic capital and investment depending on what a solution needs.
👉 Capital alone is not enough to turn a project into a system. Governance, ownership, evidence and long-term commitment matter just as much.
👉 Grants and investment do not have to sit on opposite sides of the table. Different forms of capital can build on one another and help proven solutions move towards greater scale and resilience.
Across CEE, one key question remains: what kind of capital does an organisation need to move forward? 🚀
#ImpactEurope #ImpactInvesting #CatalyticCapital #VenturePhilanthropy #CEE #SystemsChange
The expansion and continuation of the Marc Impact Programme is co-funded by the European Union within the EcoVolve project.
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🚀 Ready to take the next step with your impact venture?
The Marc Impact Programme is growing, connecting impact entrepreneurs across Central and Eastern Europe and turning ambition into tangible results!
In our latest interview, Libor Podlaha shares his perspective on Marc’s evolution into an established regional programme, the opportunities it creates for impact entrepreneurs and the potential of impact enterprises to attract investment and secure funding.
💡 Marc bridges the gap between impact and funding, helping impact ventures unlock their full potential.
🌍 Join a growing network of impact entrepreneurs and take your impact venture to the next level!
🎥 Watch the video to hear the full interview with Libor.
Applications are now open. Start your Marc journey today: marc-impactprogramme.net/application/
#Marc #Impact #ImpactVentures #SocialImpact #EnvironmentalImpact #CEE
The expansion and continuation of the Marc Impact Programme is co-funded by the European Union within the EcoVolve project.
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🌱 One of the most rewarding parts of supporting an impact venture is seeing what happens next.
At Impact Europe in Lisabon, we were very happy to see Jobs4all, a Romanian venture that previously participated in our Marc Impact Programme, this time there independently, building its own relationships within the European impact community.
Jobs4all uses technology to help vulnerable people access employment and create more inclusive pathways into the labour market.
Since participating in Marc and receiving catalytic support from ERSTE Foundation, Jobs4all has continued to grow and take important steps in its financing journey. This included securing follow-on investment from NESsT Violet Fund Poland, helping the team move into a new stage of development and opening up further conversations with potential partners and investors. 🚀
Seeing Jobs4all at Impact Europe was therefore particularly meaningful for us.
It shows what we hope catalytic capital can do: help promising impact ventures become stronger and better positioned to attract the next partners and sources of capital they need to grow. It also illustrates why different types of funding matter at different moments. Early catalytic support can help an organisation test, develop and strengthen its model; as it progresses, other investors and partners can step in and take the journey further.
It was great seeing a Romanian impact venture becoming more connected to the wider European impact investing ecosystem. 🌍
We look forward to following what comes next.
#impactinvesting #catalyticcapital #socialenterprise #CEE #romania #Impacteurope
The expansion and continuation of the Marc Impact Programme is co-funded by the European Union within the EcoVolve project.
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📢 Good news for Hungarian impact ventures!
You now have more time to apply for the Marc Impact Programme! 🇭🇺🚀
The application deadline for Hungary has been extended to 5 October 2026, giving social and environmental impact ventures a few extra days to take the next step in their journey.
Don’t miss the extended deadline. Apply by October 5!
app.babele.co/application-definition/942
#Marc #Impact #SocialImpact #EnvironmentalImpact #CEE #ImpactVentures
The expansion and continuation of the Marc Impact Programme is co-funded by the European Union within the EcoVolve project.
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