8 Climate Fintech Startups from Europe to watch
Driven by a supportive political context and the variety of initiatives introduced by governments across the region, Europe is on the way to leadership in climate fintech, and is home to four times as many climate fintech companies compared to the US, data from Commerz Ventures shows.
This emerging sector, which includes companies offering emissions tracking and analysis, impact investing, environmental, social and governance data and reporting, supply chain analytics and more, has seen strong growth over the past couple of years, fueled by growing investor interest and booming adoption from consumers.
In 2021, climate fintech startups raised a total of $1.2 billion, a figure three times higher than all previous years combined, according to Commerz Ventures, with European climate fintech startups securing more VC funding than any other region .
To get a feel for Europe’s booming climate fintech sector, today we look at eight fast-growing startups in the region. These have witnessed significant growth in the past year and have secured significant funding from prominent investors.
Deepki (France)
Founded in 2014, Deepki has developed a software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution that uses data intelligence to help commercial real estate investors, owners and managers improve the ESG performance of their real estate assets. The solution enables clients to collect ESG data, view their ESG performance, establish investment plans to reach net zero and assess results. It also allows users to report to key stakeholders.
Headquartered in France, Deepki operates in 38 countries, with team members across offices in Paris, London, Berlin, Milan and Madrid. The company serves clients such as Generali Real Estate, Allianz Real Estate, SwissLife Asset Managers and the French Government.
Deepki closed a EUR 150 million Series C in March 2022 that it said it would use to hire new employees, establish and expand operations in the US, and execute strategic acquisitions. In June it acquired Fabriq, a UK-based competitor that has 40 clients across property owners and asset managers.
Descartes Underwriting (France)
Founded in 2018, Descartes Underwriting is a Paris-headquartered insurance company that offers technology-driven parametric insurance and innovative policies to protect companies and governments against natural disasters, extreme weather and emerging risks.
Descartes Underwriting uses new technologies such as image recognition or machine learning (ML) combined with new generations of data sources, coming from satellites or the Internet-of-Things (IoT), to assess and manage natural disasters and new risks.
This makes the products fairer, as all pricing and guarantees are based on advanced data, faster and more accurate when it comes to paying claims.
The company is structured as an underwriting agent, which underwrites risks on behalf of tier-one (re)insurers and insurance-linked securities funds.
Descartes Underwriting has raised $141.5 million in funding, the latest round being a $120 million Series B that closed in January 2022. The company said it would use the proceeds to scale its approach to corporate and public entity risk exposures , and expand its technology platform, expand into new industries, target larger deals and continue its global expansion.
Sweep (France)
Founded in 2020 and headquartered in France, Sweep is the all-in-one carbon tool that helps large companies build a science-based and data-driven climate program. The platform enables companies to track and trade their carbon, making it easy to measure emissions on a large scale, set smart reduction targets and contribute to pioneering carbon projects.
Sweep uses a networked approach to carbon accounting, allowing all carbon-emitting individuals, including employees, subsidiaries, suppliers and business partners, to share their data and visualize how their activities are making a difference. Sweep also offers a carbon marketplace that allows companies to link their reduction efforts with investments and participation in carbon-positive projects. The company works with multinational companies such as Saint Gobain and JCDecaux.
Sweep closed a US$73 million Series B in April 2022, bringing its total funding raised over the previous year to US$100 million. The company said at the time that it would use the proceeds to scale the platform’s capacity.
Cushon (London)
Founded in 2014 and headquartered in London, Cushon is a workplace savings business that uses technology to bring innovation to workplace savings and retirement and help people get comfortable saving and investing.
Employers use Cushon’s workplace savings platform to improve the financial wellbeing of their workforce by giving them a simple and convenient way to save as little as GBP 10 per month directly from wages.
A company with a strong ESG focus, Cushon last year launched the world’s first net zero pension, enabling employers to help their employees contribute to slowing climate change quickly, easily and meaningfully.
In January 2022, it closed a GBP 35 million round that it said it would use to develop its app and strengthen its operations. It recently acquired Creative, which manages the Creative Pension Trust, an auto-enrolment pension scheme. The acquisition marked Cushon’s third purchase in two years, and has enabled the company to “double the reach” of its app-first climate-friendly pension.
Cushon claims it is the fifth largest provider of mainline superannuation in the UK with £1.7bn of assets under management (AUM) across 400,000 clients.
Twig (London)
Founded in 2020, Twig is a London-based new generation fintech, rooted in circular economy principles. Its central mission is to empower consumers to value, unlock and enjoy wealth they never knew they had.
Twig allows users to offload unwanted items for instant cash, and offset carbon to plan trees. In addition, users also have access to a set of traditional banking services, including domestic and international bank transfers, and a Visa debit card.
Twig claims it is the fastest growing fintech app in the UK since its launch in July 2021, growing at a rate of over 100,000 monthly downloads. The startup closed a US$35 million Series A in January 2022 to develop a Web 3.0 green payment infrastructure, increasing the rollout of its current suite of financial products. It also has imminent expansion plans in the US and the EU.
Sylvera (London)
Founded in 2020 and headquartered in London, Sylvera is the developer of ML-based tools designed to track carbon offset performance. The company leverages proprietary data and ML technology to produce the most comprehensive and accessible insights and market intelligence on carbon projects, delivered through an online platform.
Sylvera is also collaborating with leading researchers at UCLA, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab and University College London to expand its proprietary methods for evaluating carbon performance.
Sylvera serves the company’s sustainability managers, carbon traders and decision-makers. The company closed a $36.4 million Series A funding round, bringing its total funding to $39.5 million.
Doconomy (Sweden)
Doconomy was founded in 2018 and is headquartered in Sweden, and is a leading supplier of applied power solutions. The company delivers digital tools and services intended to give banks, brands and consumers the opportunity to measure, understand and reduce the environmental impact linked to consumption.
Doconomy’s impact calculation methodology calculates the carbon impact of every single financial transaction, product, lifestyle and company, so consumers can visualize their impact, receive insights to reduce consumption and be financially rewarded with refunds and other incentives.
Doconomy’s consumer solution is called Do and is a mobile banking service that enables users to understand the impact of their daily choices. The Enterprise service, called Åland Index, is a cloud-based service for CO2 emission calculations for payments and financial transactions with over 1,000,000 users and growing.
Doconomy closed a USD 19 million round in January 2022 to accelerate expansion and recruitment of new talent.
Tomorrow (Germany)
Founded in 2018, Tomorrow is a German-based sustainable mobile banking platform that helps users manage their finances while reducing their carbon footprint. Tomorrow also invests in community development initiatives worldwide.
Tomorrow currently offers a checking account, sub-accounts, shared accounts, a free Visa debit card, cash withdrawals and deposits, as well as personal financial management tools and more.
Unlike conventional banks, which use customers’ money to invest massively in coal power, weapons and other harmful industries, Tomorrow customers’ funds are used to support sustainable projects and invest in sustainable industries.
Morgendagen is not a bank in itself, but collaborates with the Berlin-based technology company Solarisbank, which has a full banking licence. The startup claims more than 90,000 customers and has raised more than $28 million in funding, according to data from Dealroom.
Featured Image Credit: Edited from Unsplash
