Fenntarthato Vallalkozasokert Alapitvany

Impact Hub Budapest, a coworking space intended to support dreamers and entrepreneurs in their efforts to find solutions for critical global issues since 2016. But the founders also wanted to build a philanthropic arm of the business in order to ensure that the needs of their community and Hungary at large. Since 2017, our NGO, the Foundation for Sustainable Enterprises (Fenntarthato Vallalkozasokert Alapitvany or FVA), has been actively providing opportunities for the underserved and underprivileged people of Hungary, including projects targeting youth (i.e. SIA award for social innovators ages 14 to 30) and women (i.e. AWE, Capsule, She's Next, Momentum Project Programs). Support for o... read more Impact Hub Budapest, a coworking space intended to support dreamers and entrepreneurs in their efforts to find solutions for critical global issues since 2016. But the founders also wanted to build a philanthropic arm of the business in order to ensure that the needs of their community and Hungary at large. Since 2017, our NGO, the Foundation for Sustainable Enterprises (Fenntarthato Vallalkozasokert Alapitvany or FVA), has been actively providing opportunities for the underserved and underprivileged people of Hungary, including projects targeting youth (i.e. SIA award for social innovators ages 14 to 30) and women (i.e. AWE, Capsule, She's Next, Momentum Project Programs). Support for our programming has been three-fold: grant money has significantly bolstered our progress; the Hub's substantial resource pool has proven indispensable; and also of great value is the Hub's entrepreneurial ecosystem. It offers strong partnerships with stakeholders from various sectors, including large corporations, other NGOs, universities, start-ups, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), consultants, and embassies, all with the ultimate effort to aid those in need. Our primary NGO work is centered around the importance of social enterprise, to help people start businesses that are financially sustainable and have a positive social or environmental impact, and also to raise awareness and educate the community on social and sustainable innovations. We promote, implement, and encourage sustainability measures, environmental protection, and social innovation. Our work is strengthened by the efforts we make to nurture cross-border relations. Encouraging intercultural communication and cooperation between nations-as well asmore locally between minority groups in Hungary-is key for our growth and success. Our ultimate goal at FVA is to enact positive social change within Hungary, to allow our young minds and the women of our nation the opportunity to flourish despite the financial and social struggles they face daily. To that end, our objectives are to continue to grow the Impact Hub network and create resources for our programs, to raise funds for their benefit, and to develop programming with their education and growth a priority. The FVA has a wide range of entrepreneurial experience. In addition to our team founding the Impact Hub, for the past seven years we have developed programs to educate the youth and women of Hungary on how to start and run their own businesses, with a strong emphasis on mentorship programs so that our participants have access to a sizable repository of business knowledge. As mentioned, the IH Budapest provides the FVA (and by extension the women of our proposed program) with a massive cooperative global network of 112 Hubs in 47 countries, on 5 continents, with more than 19,000 members. Links between Hubs in Europe are especially strong; the IH Budapest has joined forces with Hubs in the Czech Republic, Romania, and Austria to partner on various projects. The IH community is extremely supportive, sharing best practices and practical knowledge around co-working, enterprise development, and mentor pool management. Our participants are added to this global community (accessible through the community app), allowing them access to every imaginable resource to begin the work of building their businesses. The Social Impact Award (SIA) network is also part of our global repertoire. This community consists of companies and NGOs running SIA programming in their respective countries. Programming works similarly to the FVA's, with a combination of training and mentoring. The SIA network is a thriving cooperative community for early, idea-stage entrepreneurs as well as for finalists of national programs. Alumni also stay connected, sharing and offering assistance as they grow beyond the SIA program. Our foundation also has a number of local connections, most notably the start-ups, well-established entrepreneurs, and NGOs working at the IH Budapest, where we also work. It is not uncommon for members of these entities to meet in the kitchen for tea or lunch. Halfway through a steaming cup of Earl Grey new ideas are born and niggling problems solved. We also hold community events and knowledge sharing workshops on the topics of social innovation, sustainability, and entrepreneurship at the IH Budapest for more structured networking opportunities. Additionally, FVA has been part of a local social entrepreneurship ecosystem for the past two years. And we have spearheaded efforts to strengthen cooperation between agents of the Hungarian social enterprise sector (such as Ashoka Hungary, the Badur Foundation, Magnet Bank, SIMPACT, Association of Hungarian Impact Investors, and more). Further, we are actively involved with investors of both Impact Ventures and the Association of Hungarian Impact Investors (THBE), Impact Ventures and the Business Angels Association (HunBAN). Our collaboration with these entities allows social entrepreneurs in our community access to financing. We have also partnered with Magnet Bank; with the national agencies IFKA Public Benefit Non-profit Limited Company renamed recently as MGFU and the National Employment Nonprofit Limited Liability Company (OFA) (both working with social enterprises in rural areas of Hungary); with the municipality of Hajdu-Bihar County on their DelFin project; and with the NGOs Malta Gondoskodas Nonprofit Ltd. and Roma Education Fund, Red Cross all in order to boost our entrepreneurs' business skills. We at FVA provide entrepreneurial resources and education, as well as mentorship, for women across Hungary, primarily those in isolated rural areas from 2020 annually. We are running the 4th Edition in 2024/2025. The target audience for our program (AWE Hungary - Academy of Women Entrepreneurs) is women between the ages of 25 and 55 in both urban and rural areas of Hungary, lacking confidence, support, and resources, struggling to start and/or build their own businesses. Activities are designed primarily around building and pitching a business plan, with one-on-one mentoring to support this process. Our overarching goals include boosting confidence levels of all participants; broadening participant business networks, knowledge, and skills; increasing participant resolve to form social impact businesses, as well as their determination to launch their business 12 months after program completion; and see that participant business ideas have significantly improved.