Europe stands at a turning point. Global supply chains are increasingly shaped by geopolitical shifts, critical technologies are still developed elsewhere, and many European industries struggle with succession and growth. To safeguard prosperity, the continent needs to build its own strength. A Europe-first economy means homegrown technologies, resilient supply chains, and future-oriented solutions. But it also means something more: a chance to rethink how businesses are designed and run — turning them into thriving organizations that are well-connected across Europe and that bring joy to clients, collaborators, and society at large.
At the heart of this vision stands ImpactBuilders, an international foundation headquartered in Europe. With a structure that combines entrepreneurial building, industrial transformation, and international networking, ImpactBuilders pursues a clear dream: to give capitalism a human face all across Europe. This ambition takes shape in concrete initiatives, starting with the creation of new businesses.
Building the new businesses Europe needs tomorrow — ImpactBuilders Studio
One of the Foundation’s initiatives is ImpactBuilders Studio, which builds new businesses in a systematic, stage-based approach. The guiding principle is simple yet powerful: make what businesses and industries actually need in the coming years.
Each new project starts with clear market validation, testing whether the solution is relevant and in demand before any product or service is developed. This ensures that every step is anchored in real client needs.
To accelerate progress, the Studio relies on experienced entrepreneurs who step in as temporary leaders. They bring the knowledge and discipline needed to shape the company in its first stages, before handing over to a permanent team once the foundations are strong. Thanks to this evolving leadership and methodical validation, ImpactBuilders Studio can bring a business from concept to exit in just a few years.
Rebuilding the European industrial backbone one company at a time — ImpactBuilders Industry
While the Studio creates new businesses, ImpactBuilders Industry focuses on established firms. Many European companies face challenges such as family succession issues, financial struggles, or reaching a growth ceiling. ImpactBuilders Industry takes a direct mandate to rebuild these companies, reshaping leadership, strengthening operations, and reorienting business models. The driving force is to reintegrate them into European supply chains, so they can thrive as part of stronger, more resilient industrial networks.
The first activities are concentrated in Flanders, Estonia, and Lombardia, three regions with strong industrial traditions. The sectors are the classic European industries: agriculture, food, fashion, textiles, building, and materials. These industries are the backbone of local economies and employment, and making them future-ready is critical for Europe’s prosperity.
Peter Leyman.
The long-term ambition of ImpactBuilders Industry is to rebuild and interconnect European industrial chains, ensuring that essential capabilities are preserved and strengthened within the continent.
A European movement for human-centered business
ImpactBuilders is more than a set of services. It is an ecosystem that combines entrepreneurial building, industrial transformation, and international networking into a single European movement. By focusing on what Europe needs most — autonomy, resilience, and integrity in business — it provides practical answers while staying true to its larger dream: a capitalism with a human face.
Through the Studio, new businesses are shaped with market-driven precision. Through Industry, established companies are given renewed strength in essential sectors. And through First Tuesday, leaders are connected in a spirit of purposeful collaboration. Together, these initiatives form a backbone for growth that is decisively European, deeply human, and built to last.
FIRST TUESDAY INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS NETWORKING
Alongside building and transforming companies, ImpactBuilders is also creating a platform for leaders to meet, exchange, and collaborate. The First Tuesday international business networking events bring together company leaders, experts, institutional stakeholders, and purposeful investors in a monthly rhythm.
The events are already planned in Tallinn, Ghent, and Milan, with expansion across Europe in the coming years. More than conferences, these gatherings serve as practical networking opportunities where introductions are made, collaborations are sparked, and international initiatives take shape.
The founders
ImpactBuilders was founded by Jan Lagast, a Belgian entrepreneur with more than 30 years of experience in management, strategy, and industrial marketing. He is joined by co-founders Kristel Uibo from Estonia and Steven Storms from Belgium, who both bring complementary expertise and networks to the Foundation. Together, they lead the international development of ImpactBuilders and its initiatives across Europe. They are supported by selected Impact Ambassadors who endorse their journey, by highly dedicated ImpactBuilders who help shape the ecosystem, and by a growing circle of Impact Enthusiasts who share the Foundation’s dream and spread its vision across Europe.
