Panorama of sustainable fintechs 2024
In October 2022, the Institut de la Finance Durable published the ‘Panorama des fintechs durables françaises’ for the first time, in conjunction with ADEME. Convinced that innovative finance players can be driving forces in the transition and support sustainable development goals, the Institut de la Finance Durable has teamed up with France FinTech for the second year running to produce the third edition of the panorama of sustainable French fintechs.In view of the growing number of innovative finance players whose business models are focused on sustainable development issues, the joint work of the two organizations makes perfect sense. The aim of this publication is to reference, promote and support the approach and activities of these fintechs, thus continuing the work already underway and the numerous speeches given to promote the initiatives and models of sustainable fintechs, and contribute to raising awareness of environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues within the financial sector.France FinTech, as the trade association for French fintechs, and the Institut de la Finance Durable, through its coordination of the Paris financial center’s action to achieve energy and environmental transition, thus provide a structured vision of the ecosystem that will enable us to monitor the sector’s development, characterize the typologies of solutions and trends in the various activities, and also identify the obstacles to their development, particularly in terms of definition, criteria, assessment and regulation.
Methodology: Companies operating in the field of financial technologies (fintechs) that submitted their applications and received a positive opinion from the two associative bodies were selected for inclusion in this panorama, based on a series of pre-defined eligibility and distinction criteria. To reinforce their process, France FinTech and the Institut de la Finance Durable decided to set up a committee of experts bringing together third-party players and experts in the fields of sustainability and innovative finance. The committee comprises 9 members:
- Morgan Carval, Head of Impact Investing at Crédit Mutuel Arkea
- Hélène Costa de Beauregard, Project Director at Ministères Territoires Écologie Logement
- Mateo Djouadi, Sustainable Finance Innovation Manager at Finance innovation
- Emilie Garcia, Head of ESG & Impact at Bpifrance
- Mathieu Garnero, Project Director,ADEME
- Cécile Goubet, Managing Director,Institut de la Finance Durable
- Balthazar Laporte, Secretary of the Label ISR Committee
- Florence de Maupeou, DGA relations institutionnelles, France FinTech
- Sarah Perrier, Head of FAIR‘s Social Innovation Laboratory
Support from ADEME: ADEME’s support for the Challenge Fintech since its inception is part of our commitment to research, development and innovation. The challenge for us is to highlight and support start-ups and innovative digital solution projects that will facilitate the financing of the ecological transition. Achieving the transition obviously requires planning on the part of public players, with a roadmap given by the National Low Carbon Strategy, as well as private players, whom we support in their diagnosis (Bilan GES) and their transition plans (ACT). However, we pay particular attention to innovations and weak signals that can help to rethink business models and bring about more sustainable, resilient, fair and inclusive models. The agility of fintechs to propose and test new solutions makes them a key field to observe in order to support the best ideas. The panorama of sustainable fintechs gives us the maps we need to understand the issues covered and the abundance of initiatives. It is also the visualization of an ecosystem with which we regularly dialogue in order to share our expertise on the challenges of decarbonization, thanks to the events organized by the Institut de la Finance Durable.Edito Crédit Mutuel Arkéa: Faced with the climatic, environmental and social challenges of our time, the financial sector has a major role to play in accelerating the evolution towards a more sustainable economic growth model.On the strength of this conviction and of its status as a company with a mission, Crédit Mutuel Arkéa is committed to building responsible finance, which places CSR at the very heart of its strategy: we direct capital towards investments and financing that have beneficial effects for society and the environment, while reconciling financial and extra-financial performance.This vision is fully in line with our bank’s unique business model: rooted in the regions, focused on the real economy, driven by a spirit of partnership and innovation, and attached to the values of proximity and solidarity. To put these commitments into practice and meet the challenges of transition, we need the innovation and energy of ‘for good’ tech entrepreneurs. We want to play collectively, pooling our strengths to serve the common good and strengthening our cooperative ventures. This is the sense of the support we are giving to this panorama published by the Institut de la Finance Durable and France FinTech, in order to shine the spotlight on start-ups acting for a more sustainable and inclusive finance and, we hope, foster new forms of cooperation. ‘Joining the expert committee of the panorama of sustainable fintechs 2024 is an immense source of pride. It’s an opportunity to shine the spotlight on these start-ups that place sustainability at the heart of their business model and thus contribute to a transition towards a world where innovation, performance and environmental and societal responsibility converge. Our mission is to support these visionary initiatives to build a fair and sustainable future together.’ Morgan Carval, Director of Impact Investments (We Positive Invest), Arkea Capital.