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
🌱 Right in the middle of where change is happening: GLOBEZERO.AI at ChangeNOW in Paris.
As part of Marc, the team had their dedicated mentoring session on-site with Manuel J. Heckmann, a tech founder and investor working at the intersection of climate tech, deep tech, and digital infrastructure.
And that’s exactly where GLOBEZERO.AI belongs. With their SaaS decision engine, they enable industrial companies to analyze product-level emissions and simulate alternative materials and processes, embedding decarbonisation directly into operational decisions. The result: lower CO₂ emissions, better resource efficiency, and more resilient supply chains. 🌍
📊 From Vienna to Paris, from strategy to execution, this is what it looks like when ventures operate where real change is happening.
#Marc #Impact #Change #Climate #Infrastructure #Sustainability
The expansion and continuation of the Marc Impact programme is co-funded by the European Union within the EcoVolve project.
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📸 A look back at re:Marc 2026!
Inspiring ideas, meaningful conversations, new connections and unforgettable moments brought our community together once again.
Explore the photo gallery and relive some of the highlights from this year’s event. Thank you to everyone who joined us and helped make re:Marc 2026 so special!
#Marc #Impact #reMarc #Startup #ImpactVenture
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Two Voice, one Vision: impact that matters.
At re:Marc, we heard from leaders who understand that finance and purpose don't have to be strangers.
Radován Jelasity – Chairman & CEO of Erste Bank Hungary
'In the medium and long term NGO-s are the ones that can provide a big support in the case of System changes.' Radován brought decades of banking leadership to the conversation, sharing how financial institutions can be architects of sustainable development, not obstacles to it.
Uli Grabenwarter – European Investment Fund deputy CIO, Head of Equity Investments
'Finance institutions that are working in the space and developing Products adn programmes that are tailored to the needs of individual enterprises are vital.' Uli revealed the blueprint for how impact-driven capital can build resilient, sustainable, and purpose-driven economies that actually work.
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🌍 One of the ventures from our current Marc Impact Network cohort landed a global integration and it's the kind of news that deserves more than a quick congratulations post.
Imagetwin, an AI-powered tool that detects image manipulation and plagiarism in scientific research, is now embedded directly into Wiley In Research's Exchange, one of the world's leading research publishing platforms, used by more than 1,500 journals globally. ✍🏻
But let's talk about what that actually means.
💡 Before rolling out the integration, Wiley ran a pilot across multiple journals. The results were stark: Imagetwin flagged more than 3x as many image integrity issues as human reviewers working alone! Manuscripts with serious concerns that would have otherwise made it through, were caught before publication.
That's not a marginal improvement. That's a structural shift in how scientific integrity gets protected.
And the problem it addresses is more serious than most people outside academia realize. Fraudulent or manipulated images in published research don't just embarrass the journals that publish them. They corrupt the foundation that medicine, policy, and innovation are built on. Once bad science enters the record, it spreads, cited, built upon, acted on, often long before anyone catches the error.
Manual review at the scale Wiley operates simply can't keep up. Imagetwin was built precisely for that gap. 🎯
What strikes us most watching this unfold through Marc Impact Network is how quietly and deliberately Patrick, Markus and their whole team have built towards this moment. No shortcuts. No overpromising. Just a genuinely necessary product, proven through a rigorous pilot, now trusted by one of the most established names in scientific publishing.
🤝 This is exactly the kind of venture Marc Impact Network exists to support, one where impact and business success aren't in tension, but are the same thing.
Congratulations to Patrick Starke, Markus Zlabinger and the entire Imagetwin team. The scientific record is in better hands because of what you built.
#Marc #Impact #AI #Research #Imagetwin
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Every impact venture starts with a story.
The re:Marc 2025–2026 cohort brings together people from different backgrounds, industries, and communities, all united by a desire to create positive change. 🌍
From sustainable solutions and social innovation to new technologies and community-led initiatives, each impact venture reflects a unique perspective on the challenges and opportunities around us.
What makes this cohort so inspiring isn’t just the diversity of ideas, it’s the people behind them. Every founder started with a question, a challenge they cared about, or a vision for how things could be done differently.
Take some time to explore the 2025–2026 cohort and discover the journeys, motivations and ideas shaping this community: hu.marcimpactprogramme.net/cohort-2025-2026/
💬 As you browse, we’d love to hear from you: Which story resonates with you most, and why?
#Marc #Impact #MentalHealth #Innovation #ISupport
The expansion and continuation of the Marc Impact Programme is co-funded by the European Union within the EcoVolve project.
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New success stories on the horizon!
It’s time to celebrate Marc participants once again, from both past and current cohorts, who continue to turn bold ideas into impact.
🌱 TOURMIX
An environmentally friendly parcel delivery system using “Mixers” on foot, by bike, or public transport, reducing the environmental footprint of last-mile logistics.
🚁 NoxAvis Tech Solutions
With HeliDoc, emergency care is transformed through real-time AI documentation, easing workloads, improving outcomes, and scaling globally.
💺 Bergardi
Reimagining everyday sitting with a patented active seating system that strengthens core muscles, improves posture, and reduces fatigue.
💻DavinciLab
Through TalentsLounge, teachers become coaches, delivering coding and AI education with scalable tools, structured curricula, and corporate-sponsored modules.
♻️ byeagain
Turning returns, B-stock, and surplus inventory into new revenue streams, efficiently, sustainably, and at industrial scale.
✨ These ventures prove that impact and scaling go hand in hand. With with the right support, network, and ambition, impact-driven innovation can truly grow beyond borders.
#Marc #Impact #TourMix #HeliDoc #Bergardi #TalentsLounge #ByeAgain
The expansion and continuation of the Marc Impact programme is co-funded by the European Union within the EcoVolve project.
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