What does it feel like to go from raising €300,000 for a startup to having just pennies in your pocket and nowhere to go? In this powerful episode of Swiss Impact with Banerjees, we sit down with Andrew Funk, the founder of Homeless Entrepreneur, who turned his personal experience with hidden homelessness in Barcelona into a revolutionary model for social change.

Andrew pulls back the curtain on the "invisible" side of homelessness: working professionals who are still part of society but lack the stability of a home. We dive deep into his 150km "Great Walk" from Zurich to Davos, his "beyond incredible" philosophy, and how his organization is successfully transitioning people from the streets into full-time employment at companies like Amazon in as little as 26 days.

In this interview, you’ll discover:

• The Psychological Toll: Why losing your cell phone and hope are the final two stages of homelessness. ‌

• The 26-Day Turnaround: The exact model that helps "protagonists" rebuild their lives through project management and time management. ‌

• A New Perspective on Giving: Why a €3,000 targeted investment is more effective than traditional assistance-based charity. ‌

• Walking for Change: The story behind the 150km trek to the World Economic Forum to get the attention of global leaders. ‌

Whether you're an entrepreneur, a philanthropist, or someone looking for a spark of resilience, Andrew’s journey proves that with the right support network and a bit of "entrepreneurial spirit," no one is truly invisible.

In this episode of Swiss Impact, Ben and Sveta sit down with Violy, the co-founder of SIRSAK—the innovative winner of the Swiss Impact Spotlight Award. Based in Indonesia, where plastic waste often feels like an unstoppable tide, Violy and her team are tackling the hardest part of the crisis: low-value plastic.

From snack wrappers to coffee sachets, these materials are often ignored because they are difficult to recycle and hold no market value—until now. Violy shares her personal journey from a finance professional to a social entrepreneur after a life-changing visit to a landfill just five minutes from her home.

In this interview, we dive into:

• The Problem with "Invisible" Plastic: Why current systems fail when it comes to lightweight, multi-layered packaging.

• The Power of Data: How SIRSAK uses digitalization to track waste from a single household to a final recycled product, ensuring ethical supply chains.

• Social Impact: How SIRSAK provides social security and insurance to the "backbone" of the industry—the women and informal waste pickers often left behind.

• The Future of Circularity: Why recycling isn't the final answer, and how we must redesign our economy to include the cost of disposal from the start.

Join us for a deep dive into the heart of the waste crisis and the bold solutions being built on the ground in Jakarta and beyond.

How Women are Changing the World with Tropical Almonds | Season 11 Episode 08 | Talmond Foods. Elie Fink & Wolf-Rüdiger Daetz

Why Do Investors Say “Yes” When the Risk Is Real?

In this conversation, Elie Fink and Wolf-Rüdiger Daetz unpack what actually convinces an investor when spreadsheets alone aren’t enough.

From the risks of food production and climate uncertainty to the overlooked power of authenticity, purpose, and long-term vision, this episode explores why true impact investing moves at a different pace than venture capital.

We talk about why food systems matter, why fear often blocks capital, and why reconnecting business with meaning and even love may be the missing ingredient.

Learn more: https://www.talmondfoods.com/