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.β¨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
β MISCONCEPTION: "If you prioritize social impact, you have to sacrifice profitability."
π₯ The Reality: Impact and profitability are not mutually exclusive, they reinforce each other!
In a sustainable impact business, profit is the engine that drives mission scale. The stronger and more resilient your commercial model is, the more positive societal or ecological impact you can generate over the long haul.
π The Marc Impact Programme helps you build robust business models that deliver solid financial returns alongside undeniable positive impact.
π Learn more: marc-impactprogramme.net/
#Marc #SocialImpact #SocialEnterprise #MythBusting #FinanceReady
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π‘ When the SSH team joined Marc, they already had an ambitious goal: to bring their patented, ETA-validated product to a much wider market in Hungary and beyond.
During Marc, SSH worked on areas such as their target groups, value proposition, sales and marketing strategy. Through group trainings and individual mentoring, they developed a stronger sales pitch and a clearer approach to funding.
“This was a period of extremely intense mentoring and background work, we re-considered several of our main business elements. This helped us a lot to approach funders afterwards.”
Tímea Stverteczky, co-founder of SSH
If your impact venture is facing similar questions about growth, sales, positioning or funding, applications for the Marc Impact Programme 2026/27 are now open.
Are you ready to join the Marc community?
π Apply here:
marc-impactprogramme.net/application/
#Marc #Impact #SSHBoards #ImpactVenture #EnvironmentalImpact
The expansion and continuation of the Marc Impact Programme is co-funded by the European Union within the EcoVolve project.
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π€ SDG #10: Who gets access and who gets left out?
In 6 out of 10 countries, the incomes of the poorest 40% are growing faster than the national average. But low-income countries are still being left behind.
Opportunities are not equally accessible to everyone.
π Where someone lives, their financial situation, disability, age or other circumstances can still affect their access to employment, education, culture, healthcare and many other parts of everyday life.
SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities is about creating a society where fewer people are excluded from opportunities simply because of their circumstances.
π For impact ventures, this can mean tackling very different challenges: creating inclusive workplaces, making services accessible to underserved communities or developing entirely new ways to reach people who have traditionally been left out.
If your venture is working to reduce inequality, apply for the Marc 2026/27 cohort and take your impact to the next level.
π Apply now:
marc-impactprogramme.net/application/
Stay tuned for the upcoming SDGs!
#Marc #SDG10 #impact #inequality #impactventure #socialimpact
The expansion and continuation of the Marc Impact Programme is co-funded by the European Union within the EcoVolve project.
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ποΈ SDG #9: Can innovation help with building a more sustainable future?
The word innovation is usually associated with creating something new. But it can also mean finding better, more sustainable and more inclusive ways to produce, build, connect and grow.
From cleaner manufacturing and more resilient infrastructure to technologies that make essential services more accessible, businesses can play an important role in rethinking the systems we rely on in our everyday life.
Is your venture developing a solution that could make industries or infrastructure more sustainable, resilient or accessible?
Applications for the Marc Impact Programme 2026/27 are now open.
π Learn more and apply:
marc-impactprogramme.net/application/
Stay tuned for the upcoming SDGs!
#Marc #SDG9 #impact #infrastructure #innovation #technology
The expansion and continuation of the Marc Impact Programme is co-funded by the European Union within the EcoVolve project.
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π One programme. Seven countries. A new opportunity to scale your impact.
Applications for the Marc Impact Programme 2026/27 are now open across Austria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Serbia and Slovakia.
Over seven months, selected entrepreneurs will work on the foundations their ventures need to grow:
β
a stronger business model
β
greater financial and investment readiness
β
tailored guidance from experienced mentors
β
connections with impact investors
β
a supportive international community
The deadlines vary by country, so make sure you check your local application date and apply in time.
π Start your application:
marc-impactprogramme.net/application/
#Marc #impact #impactventure #ImpactEntrepreneurs #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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π Applications for the Marc Impact Programme are now open in all seven participating countries!
The final country opened applications on August 3, which means impact entrepreneurs across all 7 participating countries can now take the next step toward building stronger, more financially sustainable ventures.
π
Application deadlines:
ππ· Croatia: September 15, 2026
ππΊ Hungary: September 28, 2026
πΈπ° Slovakia: September 30, 2026
π·π΄ Romania: October 10, 2026
π·πΈ Serbia: October 10, 2026
π¨πΏ Czech Republic: October 11, 2026
π¦πΉ Austria
Round 1: September 11, 2026
Round 2: October 30, 2026
Round 3: February 1, 2027
π Check the details and submit your application:
marc-impactprogramme.net/application/
#Marc #impact #impactventure #impactinvestment #businessdevelopment
The expansion and continuation of the Marc Impact Programme is co-funded by the European Union within the EcoVolve project.
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