There is stubborn misconception that the cultural and creative sector represent riskier, less interesting investments. Nevertheless, in the EU, the two sectors combined currently account for 5% of its GDP and represents 8.7 million jobs, with this ratio expected to expand even more in coming years. The potential for impact, in particular, is immense. We sat down with Javier Arias, Director of Business Creation at EIT Culture & Creativity. They are supporting impact-minded start-ups ...

With over 20 years of experience at EIB, Shiva Dustdar is one of the leading voice in the European impact discourse. Leading into Impact Week, she took some time of her busy schedule to discuss their most recent projects, how they contribute to European competitiveness and which innovations they foresee in the years to come.

Collaboration is a magic word in the impact space, but it's not always easy to pull off effectively. The Take-a-Stake Fund, which supports SME's in the WASH and WASTE sectors, is a shining example of how to execute for maximal impact. We spoke to Åsa Skogström Feldt (IKEA Social Entrepreneurship), Kajetan Hetzer (WASTE) and Raj Kumar (Yunus Social Business) on their learnings, their complementarity and the impact the project has had on communities in Asia and Africa. The topic of collab...

How's the impact investing space in North Macedonia? Don't know? Let's fix that. Recently, Impact Europe launched a new EU-funded market building programme called Invest For Change, focusing on an underserved region: the Western Balkans. By way of introduction, we sat down with Marjan Icoski and Irina Janevska of ARNO, our new partner in the country, for a chat on their impact ecosystem and what is needed to push the envelope. As a bonus, we bring back the creator of Impact People, Ben DeVrie...

Join Eleni Theodorou for a conversation on leadership, empathy, community and more, spanning her work as Managing Director of We Share Forward Foundation to the many alliances to which she contributes. What’s the role of listening in impact leadership? How do diverse stakeholders and co-funders come together around impact goals? What’s next for Europe’s foundations? What’s the role of catalytic capital in 2025? How do we make more capital impact capital? Tune in to find out! We Share Fo...

Anastasiia Dieieva (CEO, Tokarev Foundation) has described the work of Tokarev Foundation as ‘tech philanthropy.’ But what does that mean in the context of wartime Ukraine? Anastasiia has answers – and big questions – to share. She’s joined by Darii, a young scientist supported by Tokarev’s programs, to add a perspective on EdTech’s future. Read Tokarev Foundation’s 2024 Impact Report and check out their website to learn more Check out the documentary We Are U, which features Dari...

We’re at ChangeNOW in Paris — three days, 40.000 people, bold ideas everywhere, and one big question: Whose minds do we still need to change — and how? In this special episode of Impact People, we take you into the heart of ChangeNOW 2025 — weaving together raw, honest reflections from founders, funders, thinkers, and doers who pitched at Funds For Change, the stage we co-organised. Tune in to hear what’s giving changemakers hope, what’s keeping them up at night — and who they wish had been l...

The Impact Generation was assembled by Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo and tasked with putting together a youth impact agenda. We heard from them on Impact People last year in Torino – and this year in Bilbao, they’re back! Tune in to hear them ask big questions, share learnings and ponder what being ‘likeminded’ really means. About the Impact Generation (in Italian) https://www.compagniadisanpaolo.it/it/news/impact-week-2024-continua-il-percorso-degli-impact-generators/ &nbsp...

In a rare quiet room at the very buzzy Impact Week, seven Cartier Women’s Initiative Fellows sat down to talk. What unfolded was a conversation unlike the others in this series: about the life of founders – sometimes wonderful, sometimes not. Our guests shared their experiences on balancing family, business partners and expectations; their biggest questions for each other; and what it takes to keep going when the odds are against you. Jackie https://www.cartierwomensinitiative.c...

The Cartier Women’s Initiative Fellows are innovators, changemakers and impact entrepreneurs par excellence. Five of the Fellows came on Impact People to let us inside their world – three in this episode, two more in Part 2. We start with Amaia Rodriguez, whose company Gravity Wave removes plastic from the ocean to give it a new value. Then there’s Salma; she founded Green Watech, a solution that transforms wastewater. Finally, we hear from Titi about 9ijakids, a learning tool that uses inter...