IDEA for Fintech

For social, planetary and investment reasons, sustainability must underpin the next generation of financial innovation. The Fintech clusters have a unique opportunity to drive sustainable financial innovation as early adopters and incubators for Fintech startups. The collection and analysis of Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG) Fintech data stands out as one of the primary tools for steering sustainable financial innovation. Nonetheless, to effectively use ESG data to steer sustainable financial innovation, a Fintech cluster needs to address three challenges. How to ensure:

1. Added value for startups, clusters, investors and regulators
2. Seamless and consistent implementation of ESG standards in Fintech cluster’s screening, incubation and communication processes
3. Nimble data capabilities among startups that can handle the diverse and evolving ESG reporting requirements used by regulators, investors and customers

The project IDEAforFintech addresses these challenges by supporting the Fintech cluster Copenhagen Fintech and its member startups shape sustainable financial innovation. We do so by:

1. implementing a set of ESG data collection and analytics tools, including a digital ESG checklist and an ESG compass both at a cluster level and for specific Fintech startups
2. co-designing an integrated ESG data infrastructure that leverages cluster-level data infrastructure and existing financial reporting scheme