Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Santa Casa is committed to promoting and accelerating entrepreneurship and social innovation, from innovative projects with a non-profit configuration within the framework of the social economy, to hybrid organizations (non-profit and for-profit) that aim to generate impact through their goods and services, the called Social Purpose Organizations (SPO), in both cases, in line with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030.
CASA DO IMPACTO ECOSYSTEM: INCUBATION, TRAINING AND COLLABORATION
Since its foundation in 2018, Casa do Impacto occupies a central place in the ecosystem of entrepreneurship and social innovation, together with the main national and international references. This way of being and living results in a great mobilization of the ecosystem, corresponding to an innovative form of incubation and acceleration for the impact on society.
The community supported so far includes some of the most experienced impact startups in the ecosystem. The aim is to grow and increase the number of startups, entrepreneurs, artists and activists who want to create a positive impact. The call remains open for cowork space, office space and virtual cowork.
Selected candidates benefit from a work space, but also personalized monitoring of their projects and full access to community events and initiatives.
The finalists of the acceleration programs and others nominated by merit also benefit from an incubation period and monitoring of their projects at Casa do Impacto.
One of the operational focuses is training. Stimulating the generation of new ideas and enabling projects through programs, mentoring and meetings (events open to the community) that promote knowledge.

RISE for Impact
Acceleration program, aimed at projects in the development and validation phase of the idea, product or service and/or business model. It seeks motivated entrepreneurs who promote innovative solutions in solving social and environmental problems and needs, in accordance with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the UN’s 2030 Agenda.

Maze X
European impact acceleration program, developed by MAZE, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Edmond de Rothschild Foundation, with residency at Casa do Impacto.

Impulso
The Acceleration Programme Impulso promotes the creation of micro-businesses. This impact start-up invites unemployed entrepreneurs, registered with the IEFP, to join its various acceleration programmes for a fortnight throughout the year, in various locations, including the Casa do Impacto.
Short term courses made to inspire, train and develop skills in specific areas of entrepreneurship and innovation, designed and facilitated by Santa Casa and by partners and residents of Casa do Impacto.
INVESTMENT, INNOVATION AND IMPACT ASSESSMENT
It is necessary to invest in a smart and inclusive way to promote the evolution of the ecosystem, in order to:
- Support, in an integrated and collaborative way, social business projects under a vision of changing the world in light of the 17 SDGs of the 2030’s Agenda;
- Obtain a long-term view of impact investing, supporting projects at all stages, from ideation and testing, to scalability, organizational consolidation, expansion, replication and internationalization.
Impact assessment is a key source of learning, whether to support social innovations and new projects or to assess the impact of changes generated by social projects and businesses on their stakeholders. Casa do Impacto aims to democratize access to impact assessment and, at the same time, collaborate with leading organizations to measure alignment with the 2030 SDGs.

+PLUS
Impact investing program, which annually distributes 500.000 euros to test new ideas with potential for social and environmental impact, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the UN’s 2030 Agenda. It supports the development of sustainable organizations with innovative ideas and proven results.
Projects are selected for one of the two +PLUS support mechanisms, as they are in the testing or early stage phase: +SCALING +SEED.

Santa Casa Challenge
Contest that promotes innovative technological solutions that originate technologically feasible devices, applications, digital content, web or communication services.

Impact Projects
This initiative finances and helps to leverage innovative projects in various areas, also stimulating strategic philanthropy. Employment, social protection, justice, education, health and social inclusion are some of the targeted fields of action. Integrated in this initiative are two distinct support mechanisms – “Partnerships for Impact” and “Social Impact Bonds” – which integrate the investment tools of the public initiative “Portugal Inovação Social”.