Convinced that innovative finance players can be drivers of the transition and support sustainable development goals, France FinTech and the Sustainable Finance Institute have joined forces once again to produce the second edition of their panorama of sustainable French fintechs.

In view of the growing number of innovative finance players whose model is centered on sustainable development issues, the joint work of the two organizations takes on its full meaning. The objective of this publication is to reference, promote and support the approach and activities of these fintechs.
The two entities are thus continuing their work and the numerous interventions given to promote sustainable fintech initiatives and models, and are helping to raise awareness of environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues within the financial sector.

France FinTech, as a professional association of French fintechs, and the Sustainable Finance Institute, through the coordination of the action of the Paris financial center for the achievement of the energy and environmental transition, thus provide a structured vision of the ecosystem which will make it possible to monitor the evolution of the sector, to characterize the typologies of solutions, the trends of the different activities, but also to identify the obstacles to their development, particularly in terms of definition, criteria, assessment and regulation.

¹ See:
France FinTech x Julhiet Sterwen | White Book The impact in financial services
France FinTech x Crédit Mutuel Arkéa | Infographic of impactful fintech
Institute of Sustainable Finance x ADEME | Panorama 2022 of French sustainable fintechs
France FinTech x Institute of Sustainable Finance | Panorama of sustainable fintech 2023 edition

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.

With this conviction and its status as a mission-driven company, 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 consistent with the unique model of our bank: anchored in the regions, focused on the real economy, driven by a spirit of partnership and innovation, attached to the values ​​of proximity and solidarity.

To realize these commitments and meet the challenges of the transition, we need the innovation and energy of tech entrepreneurs “for good”. We want to play collectively, pool our strengths in the service of the common good and strengthen our cooperation.

This is the meaning of the support we are providing to this panorama published by the Sustainable Finance Institute and France FinTech, in order to highlight the start-ups that are working for more sustainable and inclusive finance and, we hope, to encourage new forms of cooperation.
“Joining the 2024 Sustainable Fintech Panorama expert committee is a great source of pride. It is an opportunity to highlight these startups that place sustainability at the heart of their model and thus contribute to a transition to 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), Arkéa Capital.

ADEME's support for the Fintech Challenge since its creation is part of our action to support research, development and innovation. The challenge for us is to highlight and provide support to 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 actors with a roadmap given by the National Low Carbon Strategy as well as private actors whom we support in their diagnosis (GHG Balance Sheet) and their transition plans (ACT). However, we pay particular attention to innovations and weak signals that can make it possible to rethink economic models to bring about more sustainable, resilient, just and inclusive models.

This agility of fintech to propose and test new solutions makes it a key area to observe in order to support the best ideas. Thus, the panorama of sustainable fintech gives us the maps to understand the issues covered and know the abundance of initiatives. It is also the visualization of an ecosystem with which we regularly interact in order to share our expertise on the issues of decarbonization, thanks to events organized by the Institute of Sustainable Finance.

Companies operating in the field of financial technologies (fintech) that submitted their applications and received a favorable opinion from the two associative entities were selected to appear in this overview.

The selection of companies was carried out using a series of previously defined eligibility and distinction criteria:

• a significant contribution to the financial industry;
• an innovative character linked to:
• the technology used,
• use, through the change introduced by the use of the product or the consumption of the service according to needs;

• sustainability at the heart of fintech activity, whether it is focused on one or other of the following pillars:
• environmental,
• Social,
• governance.

In addition to the eligibility criteria, additional criteria made it possible to ensure a relevant selection:

• head office based in France;
• registered company whose product is operational;
• company that has not carried out an exit (no buyout or IPO);
• Consulting companies and design offices were excluded.

To strengthen their process, France FinTech and the Institute for Sustainable Finance decided to create an expert committee that brings together third-party stakeholders and experts on sustainability and innovative finance. The committee is composed of 9 members:

• Morgan Carval, Director of Impact Investment at Credit Mutuel Arkea

• Hélène Costa de Beauregard, Project Director at Ministries Territories Ecology Housing

• Mateo Djouadi, responsible for Sustainable and Solidarity Finance Innovation at Finance innovation

• Emilie Garcia, ESG & Impact Manager at Bpifrance

• Mathieu Garnero, Project Director at theADEME

• Cécile Goubet, General Director of theInstitute of Sustainable Finance

• Balthazar Laporte, Secretary of the committee of SRI label

• Florence de Maupeou, DGA institutional relations of France FinTech
• Sarah Perrier, Head of the Social Innovations Laboratory at FAIR

After an initial analysis of the applications by France FinTech and the Sustainable Finance Institute, the fintech companies on which there was no agreement – ​​which numbered 23 – were submitted to the expert committee. Each member has a right to vote. In the event of a tie, ADEME's vote is decisive. If a fintech company is refused, a written justification is sent to the company concerned. Beyond the assessment of the fintech company's contribution to sustainability, criteria for improvement and refinement compared to previous years on the one hand, and for the realization of the impact intention on the other hand, came into play in the decisions of the expert committee. 

It should be noted that the assessment of the contribution to a sustainable development issue is largely based on elements that are publicly available or communicated by the company. These elements include in particular the intensity of the intention expressed in the communications, the detailed description of the products and/or services offered by the solution, as well as the possible presentation of certifications, labels or specific statuses. It should be emphasized that this criterion can only be examined in depth through communication and tangible attributes. However, it is clear that communication alone cannot irrefutably demonstrate the true contribution to sustainable development goals.

As a result, some companies that submitted their application via the form were not included in this overview. It should be noted that this exclusion cannot call into question the inherent value of their initiatives, but simply reflects the choices made within the framework of this publication.

Evolution of the number of sustainable fintechs

The panorama identifies 108 sustainable fintechs in France that meet the selection criteria. The sector has experienced significant growth in terms of the number of active companies since 2017. 60% of them were created in the last 5 years.

Distribution of sustainable fintechs by turnover

While the sector is emerging, more than 43% of sustainable fintechs already achieve a turnover greater than or equal to 1 million euros.

Distribution of sustainable fintechs by category

Financing solutions represent 30% of sustainable fintechs. Crowdlending is a very developed one. Nearly 18% of sustainable fintechs offer it in particular to finance agricultural players and projects. The share of fintechs offering decision-making tools represents 16% and focuses mainly on solutions for measuring carbon footprints, carbon assessments and carbon offsetting. Players offering regulatory reporting solutions are also increasingly important, representing 16% of sustainable fintechs. This can be explained by the need for players to comply with relevant regulations such as the CSRD. A significant proportion of the solutions offered are aimed at a typology of VSE/SME players whose market was poorly or barely addressed. The latter support all types of financial players in ESG and extra-financial analysis, and regulatory compliance.

Contribution of fintech to the transition

About France FinTech

Founded in 2015 by entrepreneurs, France FinTech brings together companies using innovative and disruptive operational, technological, or economic models to address existing or emerging challenges in the financial services industry, representing the sector's key players. The association's mission is to promote excellence in the sector both in France and internationally, and to represent French fintech companies to public authorities, regulators, and the broader ecosystem.

France FinTech is chaired by Alain Clot, and Kristen Charvin is its general delegate. Its steering committee includes the founders and managers of +Simple, AML Factory, Anaxago, Defacto, Epsor, Kriptown, Lydia, Pennylane, October, Rosaly, and Virgil. Following the integration of the "Insurtech France" and "Crowdfunding France" associations, the association now offers the Insurtech and Crowdfunding Colleges.

In addition to its actions in the regulatory and legislative fields, its numerous publications, workshops and various meetings, the association organizes the benchmark event of the ecosystem, FinTech R:Evolution , every year.

France FinTech is co-organizer of French FinTech Week , member of the ACPR-AMF Fintech Committee and founding member of the EDFA (European Digital Finance Association).

About the Sustainable Finance Institute

Created in October 2022, the Sustainable Finance Institute, a branch of Paris EUROPLACE, aims to coordinate, federate and accelerate the action of the Paris financial center to achieve the ecological transition and the transformation of the economy towards a low-carbon and inclusive model, aligned with the objectives of the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals. It brings together all the private, public and institutional players of the Paris financial center and promotes the positions of the center at the European and international level.

About ADEME

At ADEME – the Ecological Transition Agency – we are resolutely committed to the fight against global warming and resource degradation.
On all fronts, we mobilize citizens, economic actors and territories, giving them the means to progress towards a resource-efficient, lower-carbon, more just and harmonious society.
In all areas – energy, circular economy, food, mobility, air quality, adaptation to climate change, soils, etc. – we advise, facilitate and help finance numerous projects, from research to the sharing of solutions.
At all levels, we put our expertise and foresight capabilities at the service of public policies.

ADEME is a public establishment under the supervision of the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion, the Ministry of Energy Transition and the Ministry of Higher Education and Research.

www.ademe.fr

@ademe

About Crédit Mutuel Arkéa

The Crédit Mutuel Arkéa cooperative group is made up of the Crédit Mutuel de Bretagne and Sud-Ouest federations and their local member banks, as well as around forty specialist subsidiaries (Fortuneo, Monext, Arkéa Banque Entreprises et Institutionnels, Arkéa Investment Services, Suravenir, etc.). It has more than 11 employees, 400 directors, more than 2 million members and customers in bancassurance and has a balance sheet total of 600 billion euros. The first banking group to adopt a Purpose in 5,1, Crédit Mutuel Arkéa became a mission-driven company in 191,6 and is committed, through its “Transitions 2019” strategic plan, to practicing finance that serves the regions and their stakeholders in order to position itself as the agile and innovative financial partner for the transitions of the future.