Everyone talks about impact.
But no one tells you how to sustain it.
That was the main question tackled during the Unboxing Live at enpact HQ.
From international aid to citizen participation, we’re surrounded by systems designed to do good, on paper. In reality?
The people working hardest to shift those systems are often burning out, running dry, or forced to compromise to stay afloat.
That’s why we brought Alicia Combaz, founder of Make.org, and Matthias Treutwein, co-founder of enpact, together in the same room, not for a panel, but for a raw, unscripted Unboxing session where the questions came straight from the audience.
What did we learn?
Both guests came from different sectors — civic tech and international development — but they shared the same frustration:
We’re still trying to solve today’s problems with yesterday’s logic.
Alicia explained how democratic participation is often reduced to symbolic gestures: “We ask people to speak up, but we don’t really give them power.”
Matthias echoed that in the aid world: “Too much money goes into keeping systems running. Not enough into the people doing the actual work.”
What emerged was a shared call for something deeper than reform:
We need to stop patching broken models and start redesigning what power and participation really mean.
When asked what impact truly looks like, Matthias didn’t list a metric.
He told a story.
A couple who met at one of Enpact’s programs ended up starting a life together. A child was born because two people dared to build something — and crossed paths through Enpact.
“That’s an Enpact baby,” he said. “And no KPI would ever track that.”
For Alicia, it’s about making people feel seen. When someone who’s never participated in politics finally does — and realizes their voice counts — that ripple carries far beyond a platform or petition.
One of the sharpest exchanges came when the conversation turned to where innovation is really happening.
Matthias pointed out that many of the most powerful solutions come from necessity, from Kenya’s mobile payments to Egypt’s solar entrepreneurship. "When survival depends on innovation," he said, "you don’t wait for permission. You build."
Alicia added that Europe often confuses stability with success: “We’re not changing because we can afford not to. But that’s exactly why we should.”
As always, the Live Unboxing format meant the audience led the night.
No pre-approved questions.
Here are the key aspects we learned:
- Fight division by focusing on what unites us
- Create spaces where everyone has a voice
- Recognize that polarisation online is no accident, it’s a design choice for profitability, and we can choose differently
Can you create real impact, and still make a living?
We didn’t walk away with one answer.
Because there isn’t one.
But if the event taught us anything, it’s this:
The most powerful shifts don’t come from perfect solutions.
They come from people willing to stay in the questions
long enough to build something that actually works.
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Click here to see the video recapof the Live Unboxing Event
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