Pre-ImpactFest Host Dinner
October 16, 2025
An invite-only gathering meant for session hosts at ImpactFest. It’s a moment to connect, prepare, and get ready for ImpactFest!
ImpactFest
Side Events
16 – 31 October, 2025
Day Zero is the day before ImpactFest. On this day, many different official side events will take place. ImpactCity and partners are collaborating to offer exciting side events before, during and after ImpactFest. So if you are planning your visit to ImpactFest, don’t forget to check these side events and enjoy an impactful week!
Side events before Oct. 29
North Sea Seaweed
October 28, 2025
North Sea Seaweed 2025 will bring together 400+ seaweed professionals, sustainability managers, ingredient wholesalers, retail, food service & packaging experts.
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Exposition opening: 10 years of ImpactCity
October 28, 2025
ImpactCity is celebrating its tenth anniversary. In honour of this moment, we showcase an exposition to reflect on the past 10 years of ImpactCity, dwell upon the status quo, and look ahead into the next ten years. The exposition will be open to the public after the official opening.
Side events on Day Zero: Oct. 29
Discover the beautiful history of the Royal City
Walk with our city guides, who tell more about the history of our city.
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Co-Creating the Impact Cities Network
Bringing together policy makers from Europe’s leading local ecosystems for social entrepreneurship to boost collaboration.
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Founder and Investor Lunch Meetup
Bringing together policy makers from Europe’s leading local ecosystems for social entrepreneurship to boost collaboration.
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Unlocking European Funding: What International NGOs Need to Know
Discover how to strengthen your fundraising strategy and access European public and philanthropic funding.
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Padel & Network
Binck Padel is the biggest indoor padel court in The Hague. Let’s meet here for some networking and padel.
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Spotlight on Scaling: What It Takes to Grow Social Impact
Discover what drives successful scaling in social enterprises through insights from entrepreneurs and funders, highlighting proven success factors and real-world examples from the DRK portfolio.
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Binckhorst Impact Tour
Learn more about the companies in the Binckhorst and how they are making an impact in The Hague and beyond. We will visit some great impact companies and learn more about their journey so far.
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Impact Founder Meetup: Frontier Technologies for Good
A gathering of impact-driven founders & ecosystem to share learnings, network & collaborate. Special focus of this edition: Frontier Tech.
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ImpactFest Day Zero Drinks
The evening before the tenth edition of ImpactFest, changemakers from around the world gather in The Hague for an informal networking event.
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Side events during ImpactFest
The Hague Innovators Awards 2025
October 30, 2025
Final of the Hague Innovators challenge with two categories: Best Innovator Award and Future Innovator Award. Attendance is by invitation. Winners will be presented at the ImpactFest Closing Celebration.
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ImpactCity Ecosystem Dinner @ ImpactFest
October 30, 2025
This side event is organised as part of ImpactFest. It takes place after the main program and is set up as a walking dinner, providing participants with an opportunity to connect and reflect on the future of the ecosystem in an informal setting. Attendance is by invitation.
How to deal with innovative urban development
October 30, 2025
Living Lab Binckhaven is testing and proofing innovations for climate adaptation, sustainability, biodiversity and circularity. Together with a diverse group of stakeholders, discussing showstoppers for innovation and how to overcome them. Attendance is by invitation.
Inno-MeetUp Water Innovation
October 30, 2025
This morning, Rabobank is bringing together the community of South Holland start-ups & scale-ups, members of the members council, and stakeholders to engage in a dialogue about water and innovation. Several cheques from the Rabo ImpactFund will also be awarded to impactful startups. Attendance is by invitation.
Steward Ownership for impact investors
October 30, 2025
A workshop on steward ownership where a diverse panel will share how they invest in or lend to steward-owned companies, followed by an interactive Q&A during which the audience will be invited to share their experience or dilemmas. Attendance is by invitation.
Ecosystem Connectors – Introduction & speed dates
October 30, 2025
One hour in which selected incubators, start-ups, scale-ups and investors can connect and discuss challenges during speed dating sessions. Who is who and what are the next steps? Attendance is by invitation.
Grant Thornton – Equal Opportunity & the Future of Work in Finance
October 30, 2025
Launch of new service Paycheck’ed. Panel 1: Equal Opportunity and the Future of Work in Finance. Panel 2: Equal Opportunity and the Future of Work in Finance. Including Q&A with audience. Attendance is by invitation.
The Validation Time Machine
October 30, 2025
Travel back in time to save iconic failed innovations! We will investigate these cases innovations, and by using our validation toolkit, we create 2-3 quick tests that could have prevented disaster. Ultimately, we show how your experiments would have changed history and saved millions. Attendance is by invitation.
Pre-Slush CEO Breakfast Session
October 30, 2025
Up!Rotterdam and ImpactCity are collaborating to bring together the CEOs from our regional delegation at the Dutch Delegation to Slush 2025 for a breakfast session to get to know each other and share goals before heading to Helsinki. Attendance is by invitation.
Shell Impact Fund portfolio breakfast
October 30, 2025
As part of the Shell Impact Fund support programme, social enterprise The Young Digitals will provide an AI workshop on how to unlock AI’s potential for your organisation. In this dynamic workshop, experts introduce key AI tools, from machine learning to NLP, and guide you through hands-on exercises to explore their real-world impact.
- Want to participate? Send an email to sign up!
More information
Discover the beautiful history of the Royal City
Join us for a walking tour and explore the best of The Hague! Stroll through beautiful streets, see famous sights like the Binnenhof, and find hidden spots only locals know. Along the way, our guide will share fun facts and stories that bring the city to life.
It’s the perfect way to enjoy The Hague, meet new people, and discover places you’ll want to visit again. Everyone is welcome, just bring your curiosity and comfortable shoes!
Date & time: October 29, 2025, 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM
Location: In front of The Humanity Hub (Fluwelen Burgwal 58, The Hague)
Interesting for: International companies, entrepreneurs, NGOs, investors.
Founder and Investor Lunch Meetup
This intimate event is designed to spark authentic, informal conversations, share valuable insights, and explore opportunities for collaboration. Over a delicious lunch, you’ll connect with like-minded changemakers, exchange experiences, and discover innovative ideas shaping the future of impact business. Whether you’re seeking investment, exploring partnerships, or simply expanding your network, this lunch provides the perfect setting to build meaningful relationships that can help scale positive change.
Date & time: October 29, 2025, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM
Location: Kompaan, Saturnusstraat 55, The Hague
Interesting for: Impact founders and investors, international and local
Co-Creating the Impact Cities Network
This session brings together representatives from cities across Europe who have cultivated thriving ecosystems for social entrepreneurship. The session will identify areas for collaboration between these cities, supporting the adoption of joint approaches and paving the way towards European projects proposals in the future. We aim to have concrete results and agreements at the end of the session, not just colourful Post-its on a wall.
Date & time: October 29, 2025 from 13:00 – 16:00 (with lunch from 12:00)
Location: Apollo 14, Saturnusstraat 14, The Hague
Hosts:
Euclid Network
Toby GazeleyImpactCity & Municipality of The Hague
Irene SamwelInteresting for: Policy makers working on social entrepreneurship, innovation and impact in local government in Europe.
Unlocking European Funding: What International NGOs Need to Know
Europe offers strong fundraising potential for international NGOs—if you know how to navigate it. This one-hour session explores key success factors for attracting European funding, including EC grants, major foundations, and Dutch government frameworks. We’ll touch on available opportunities, but focus on what it takes to become structurally successful. Each participating NGO is also invited to a follow-up 1:1 consultation to explore tailored strategies and entry points.
Date & time: October 29, 2025, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM
Location: Apollo 14, Saturnusstraat 14, The Hague
Host:
HVFC International
Han Valk, Founder and CEOInteresting for: NGOs currently based in The Hague or in the process of relocating here, who are interested in exploring funding opportunities.
Padel & Network
This unique event combines the thrill of sport with the power of connection. Whether you’re an experienced padel player or a curious beginner, you’ll enjoy friendly matches in a lively atmosphere while meeting fellow professionals, entrepreneurs, and innovators. During this event you can build meaningful connections, share ideas, and have fun — all under one roof, rain or shine. Come for the game, stay for the network!
Date & time: October 29, 2025, 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Location: Binck Padel, Zonweg 23, The Hague
Interesting for: Founders, investors, organisations, companies, international and local
Spotlight on Scaling: What It Takes to Grow Social Impact
Scaling is one of the most challenging—and critical—phases in a social enterprise’s journey. In this session, we explore what truly differentiates the organisations that scale from those that stall. Drawing on lessons from years of supporting early-stage social enterprises, we’ll unpack the Scaling Success Factors—key elements that consistently lead to growth, resilience, and impact at scale.
You’ll hear from both entrepreneurs and funders, gaining practical insights into what’s needed on both sides to bridge the gap between start-up and scale-up. We’ll also share examples from the DRK portfolio, showcasing organisations that are not just overcoming the odds but are poised to scale nationally and globally.
Whether you’re building a social enterprise or backing one, this session will equip you with actionable strategies and fresh perspectives to help your innovation achieve its full potential.
Date & time: October 29, 2025, 2:30 PM – 4:00 PM
Location: Apollo 14, Saturnusstraat 14, The Hague
Hosts:
DRK Foundation
Lisa JordanInteresting for: impact investors and startups
Binckhorst Impact Tour
During this interactive tour, we’ll visit a selection of standout impact-driven businesses, each with their own unique mission, products, and solutions addressing today’s social and environmental challenges. You’ll hear firsthand from founders and teams about their journeys so far — from their early ideas and challenges to their breakthroughs and successes. Along the way, you’ll gain valuable insights into the local impact ecosystem, make new connections, and leave inspired by the creativity, resilience, and vision shaping the future from right here in The Hague.
Date & time: October 29, 2025, 2:30 PM – 4:00 PM
Location: Apollo 14, Saturnusstraat 14, The Hague
Hosts: T.B.A.
Interesting for: entrepreneurs, companies, NGOs, investors, organisations
Impact Founder Meetup: Frontier Technologies for Good
Join the Impact Founder Meetup, a gathering of impact founders & ecosystem to share lessons, look ahead, build collaborations, and ultimately give the Dutch impact ecosystem the chance to learn from each other. Organised in collaboration with one of our partners, in this edition we will focus on Frontier Technologies for Good and bring on stage founders developing groundbreaking innovations.
Date & time: October 29, 2025, 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM and pre-ImpactFest drinks afterwards
Location: Titaan, Saturnusstraat 95, The Hague
Hosts:
Unknown Group
Martin LuxemburgInteresting for: Entrepreneurs, ecosystem builders, investors, industry leaders, tech for good professionals, policy makers.
ImpactFest Day Zero Drinks
The evening before ImpactFest officially opens its doors, we invite you to join us for an informal networking gathering to set the tone for this special tenth edition. Changemakers from around the globe will already begin gathering in The Hague, and this pre-event is the perfect opportunity to reconnect with familiar faces, meet new allies, and spark conversations that may carry into the next day and beyond.
We would love to see you there, as we kick off the celebrations together and open this milestone edition in the spirit of community.
This event is made possible by Unknown Group and ImpactCity.
Date & time: October 29, 2025, 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Location: Titaan, Saturnusstraat 95, The Hague
Interesting for: The entire ImpactFest audience
North Sea Seaweed
On 28 October, aboard the SS Rotterdam, the European seaweed industry will showcase its best solutions to inspire markets in food, feed, biostimulants & biomaterials.
The event will bring together 400+ seaweed professionals, sustainability managers, ingredient wholesalers, retail, food service & packaging experts.
North Sea Seaweed 2025 facilitates meaningful match-making with the most promising market players.
As a market player, you will get the best overview of the European seaweed industry from its experts.
And you can taste and discover the latest innovations at the Seaweed Expo.
Date & time: October 28, 2025, 9:30 AM – 19:00 PM
Location: SS Rotterdam, 3e Katendrechtsehoofd 25, Rotterdam
Hosts: Find all speakers here.
Interesting for: Seaweed professionals, sustainability managers, ingredient wholesalers, retail, food service & packaging experts.