Next Impact Europe unveils 50 impact startups to watch, selected from 520 nominations across 35 countries

Today at VivaTech 2026, Next Impact Europe announced its inaugural list of 50 impact startups to watch, selected from 520 nominations spanning 474 unique companies across 35 countries.

Founded by 4P Capital and Impact Shakers, Next Impact Europe is a platform that surfaces and celebrates exceptional impact startups led by founders from diverse backgrounds across Europe. The platform was created to provide greater visibility to founders building solutions to some of Europe's most pressing challenges, while highlighting the breadth of innovation emerging across the continent.

The inaugural edition brought together a broad network of investors, founders, accelerators, universities, and ecosystem leaders who nominated companies they believe are shaping the future through innovation and impact. In total, 270 individuals participated in the nomination process.

Following a review process, 50 companies were selected from a pool of 474 unique startups. Together, the selected cohort represents 13 countries and reflects the diversity of impact innovation taking place across Europe, spanning Climate & Energy, Circular Economy & Waste, Food & Agriculture, Health & Wellbeing, Education & Economic Opportunity, Mobility & Infrastructure, and Nature, Water & Biodiversity.

"We started Next Impact Europe because we believed there were exceptional founders building important companies that weren't getting enough visibility," said Vera Baker, Partner at 4P Capital and Co-Founder of Next Impact Europe. "The response confirmed that. We received nominations from across Europe and were consistently impressed by the ambition, creativity, and quality of the founders we met along the way. We hope this list helps more people discover them."

“Visibility is the first form of investment. We built Next Impact Europe because a more inclusive startup ecosystem doesn't just happen - it has to be built, curated, and championed, one founder at a time," said Yonca Braeckman, Founder of Impact Shakers and Co-Founder of Next Impact Europe. "We are grateful for the massive support of the investment ecosystem in nominating companies and will share the data we gathered with them to create new opportunities for the featured founders.”

The nomination process attracted companies from across Europe and beyond, with the strongest representation coming from the United Kingdom, Germany, France, the Netherlands, and Spain. Among the selected companies, Circular Economy & Waste emerged as the largest theme, accounting for 30% of the final cohort and highlighting growing innovation around resource efficiency, sustainable materials, reuse, and waste reduction.

The full list of the 2026 Next Impact Europe cohort is available at www.nextimpacteurope.com.