Fourfold, a foundation based in Rapperswil-Jona in the Swiss canton of St.Gallen, has awarded the Positive Futures Award for the first time in an effort to promote start-ups from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). According to a statement, the award is geared towards start-ups operating in areas such as sustainable food systems, nature-based solutions and the circular economy. It was presented on June 18 at the re:Marc closing event for the Marc Impact Programme in Budapest.
The first winners are Recycllux, from Bucharest in Romania and Superjuice, which is based in the Hungarian capital of Budapest. Recycllux develops software and technologies to transform marine plastic waste into valuable resources, while Superjuice takes leftover pulp from juice production to make tasty pet treats under the HOLY PULP brand.
Both companies won a voucher worth 25,000 euros to put towards advisory services provided by the European impact finance advisor FASE. The aim here is to support further growth and to help the start-ups prepare for funding rounds.
“This initiative reflects our commitment to the CEE, not only to support promising solutions, but to create a more investable and resilient impact ecosystem”, comments Lena Gampp, Fourfold Program Manager. Moreover, CEO Valerie Remoquillo-Jenni writes that the award is part of the foundation’s new strategy for the CEE region, where Fourfold is seeking to build partnerships in order to advance sustainable solutions to meet environmental and social challenges.
The Marc Impact Programme is an international promotional program for companies in the CEE region. It is a joint initiative of the ERSTE Foundation, ERSTE Social Finance, IFUA Nonprofit Partnerand Simpact. ce/as