Secretaria-Geral do Ministério do Trabalho, Solidariedade e Segurança Social

With the aim of enhancing the social entrepreneurship ecosystem, Casa do Impacto, of Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa, has just launched a new edition of the +PLUS Fund that allocates another 500,000 euros for innovative solutions of social or environmental impact.

Applications are now open for the second edition of the +PLUS investment program of Casa do Impacto da Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa. The philanthropic fund has 500,000 euros for solutions in the initial phase of implementation or already implemented. Applications are made online, through the website of the House of Impact, by 30 November.

Aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the UN 2030 Agenda, the +PLUS philanthropic fund enables entrepreneurs, startups and social organizations to test or increase the impact of innovative solutions.

In addition to financial support adjusted to the need for each solution, which is carried out by instalments through the presentation of results over two years (investment by results), the program also offers non-financial support, which translates into individualized monitoring by Casa do Impacto's team, experts and partners, for market implementation, scalability and impact demonstration.

“In a year in which social problems and inequalities are worsening, due to the impact of the pandemic, it is even more important to invest in projects that can respond to the challenges for the social and economic recovery of the country, without ever forgetting the climate emergency and the green transition, an area that we also want to leverage through the +PLUS programme. To be able to boost effective response projects, we will focus on those that already have proven feasibility and some tangible results.” says Inês Sequeira, director of Casa do Impacto, about the ambitions for this second edition of +PLUS.

Who can apply? Applications for solutions that have been previously validated through a test or pilot project demonstrating that they are viable as a product, service or process are accepted. The candidate solutions must also fit into one of the support axes of +PLUS, according to their degree of maturity.

For the “+Testing” axis, for solutions that have not yet been implemented or are at an early stage of implementation and want to test their impact on business consolidation, individual or team entrepreneurs, social economy entities (associations, cooperatives, foundations and others defined in the Basic Law on the Social Economy), commercial companies and other legal persons governed by private law may apply. Each solution will be invested up to a maximum of 50,000 euros.

For the “+Scaling” axis, only legal persons seeking the expansion of innovative solutions that have already been implemented in the market with proven results and that intend to scale their impact can apply. For each solution, the investment limit on this axis is 100,000 euros.

After the deadline for applications, on November 30, the pre-selection phase of the solutions begins. They will go through a two-day bootcamp to prepare for the finals, with two selection moments culminating in a pitch presentation before a panel of judges in January 2022. The potential social and environmental impact of the solutions, the feasibility, the consistency of the business model and the profile of the team/candidate will be the main criteria for the selection.

+PLUS FUND REGULATION 2021 – 308 KB | PDF

FUND REGISTRATION FORM +PLUS

Source: SCML