Agile startups, together with investors, can play a major role in achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals – the world’s shared “to-do-list” adopted by the UN. Therefore, more visible yet simple indicators of startups’ impact on sustainable development were needed in the FiBAN deal flow process.
Now startups can indicate their impact in a simple way when they apply for funding through FiBAN from its 650+ private investor members. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals are integrated into FiBAN’s new deal flow tool Startup Includer, where startups can choose which goals they have an impact on. This way, SDGs are connected to the FiBAN investor screening – the startup evaluation done by FiBAN members.
With the new feature, requested by FiBAN members, impact investing becomes more visible in the deal flow process. Besides a more impact conscious investment process in Finland, FiBAN hopes that the new feature helps other countries’ business angel networks, who use Startup Includer as their deal flow platform.
The new SDGs feature was launched at the first-ever remotely organized FiBAN Pitch Finland – the leading regularly organized pitching event in the Nordics. The event was hosted by FiBAN’s partner Danske Bank that has been one of the forerunners with Nordic impact startups.
“We have been following the Nordic ecosystem development closely for the past couple of years, and have clearly seen the growing investor interest towards impact companies in Nordics. Swedes, especially Swedish based Family Offices, have been the trailblazer investors in the segment, but now other Nordics are slowly catching up,” says Teppo Havo, Head of Growth & Impact Finland at Danske Bank.
“Excited to see this new feature released for FiBAN members, as it hopefully increases the angel’s awareness for possibilities that impact segment offers. We know there are some really interesting SDG-based companies in Finland who definitely deserve some attention,” Havo continues.
Impact investing should not be seen as just a trend, but rather a standard
Danske Bank’s report on The State of Nordic Impact Start-ups (2019) enhances the sustainable development goals and is therefore included in the FiBAN’s Impact Investing Toolbox. FiBAN’s open-source toolbox shares meaningful impact work and studies created by relevant organizations, thus promoting more impact-conscious investing.
Measuring startups’ impact has remained fragmented since there is neither one comprehensive way of measuring impact of an investment nor a policy for reporting impact. Following the blueprint of SDGs will lead us on the right track in creating a more sustainable future for all.
Impact investing should not be seen as just a trend, but rather a standard and one of the cornerstones of investing. As estimated by Niklas Geust, recently awarded for the Finnish Business Angel Exit of the Year 2019, “Traditionally, investing is seen in relation to returns and risk, but in the future, impact investing will become the third major dimension of startup investing”.
Startups looking for funding, submit your profile to receive an investment from FiBAN members and to enable your company to take a major leap in creating a more sustainable future!