4 Green FinTech start-ups offering sustainable financial solutions

By Gloria Methri

Green FinTech represents the convergence of financial technology solutions with environmental sustainability objectives. This paradigm integrates innovative financial technologies to address environmental challenges and foster sustainable practices in the financial industry.

The global financial sector has significantly bolstered its efforts to combat climate change. A growing influx of investments is directed towards technologies that facilitate the transition to a more environmentally friendly infrastructure.

Recent statistics from Global Market Estimates project a steady annual growth rate of 22.4% for the global green FinTech market spanning from 2024 to 2029.

Listed below are four FinTech startups driving positive change in the green financing domain.

• CarbonChain

British startup CarbonChain offers carbon accounting products that create openings for industries to access green financing. The startup quantifies the carbon footprints of companies’ trade finance portfolios to identify the transactions that pose the most risk in terms of rising carbon prices. CarbonChain also offers carbon risk exposure assessments for clients in multiple industries, including steel, copper, and aluminium.

• Tomorrow

German startup Tomorrow provides sustainable and transparent mobile banking services. Tomorrow Zero, a premium account, enables financing specific climate change initiatives such as biogas plants in Vietnam, clean drinking water in Uganda, and smallholder improvement in Peru. Moreover, the startup contributes to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through the green bonds issued by Förderbank Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany.

• Tred

Tred is a FinTech company that uses Open Banking to help consumers track, reduce, and offset their carbon footprint. Tred calculates an individual’s carbon footprint using transaction data and provides guidance to help them make more sustainable choices. Tred also offers a green debit card, and its green banking platform seamlessly integrates sustainability into any business.

• Trine

Trine is a Swedish FinTech company that connects investors with solar businesses in emerging markets through crowdfunding. Trine uses a peer-to-peer (P2P) business loan platform to power solar energy projects. Investors can choose a loan to invest in based on criteria such as location, risk, size, and impact. Investors can invest as little as €25, and if the solar partner succeeds in repaying the loan, investors receive their original investment back with interest.