Copenhagen-based startup Contribe has recently landed a pre-seed investment from venture funds Human Act Development and Rockstart. The startup offers a sustainability infrastructure platform to automate manual work, find the right impact partner, validate the data, and turn it into a competitive advantage. Contribe plans to use the pre-seed investment to help other businesses become more sustainable. They aim to achieve this by building a platform that makes it easier for companies to engage in donating, environmental or social projects, and impactful partnerships.
According to the founders, the lack of data transparency often hinders donations and sustainable collaborations, and they want to remove this obstacle. Contribe aims to make it mandatory for companies to become sustainable while guaranteeing a business advantage.
Tobias Ørskov Madsen originally came up with the idea for Contribe while operating his own NGO, A Better Ocean. There, he noticed the big challenges donations and sustainable collaborations faced – companies had a strong interest to engage, but the lack of data transparency removed all incentives and held companies back.
“To reach the set climate ambitions, it is a necessity not only to solve sustainability from within, but also through its supply chain and through donations or other sustainability projects. It’s a sad development if fear of greenwashing obstructs the green transition,” he says.
The first few months of Contribe were spent on understanding the market, building the platform, and running tests with beta customers. During this time, interest in the company has been high – both from customers and investment funds.
Just as the platform is focused on having a local impact, the founders aspired for the right investor to complement this local focus.
“We have had interest from a lot of venture funds – including some of the world’s largest – but we have always had a specific focus on having a local presence and experience in our present space. We have found a perfect match in Rockstart and Human Act,” says Christoffer Bouet.
The three founders met in the Copenhagen startup community, with a shared ambition to initiate and run a company that has a positive impact on the world. Prior to Contribe, all three founders had well-established careers, but their urge to create something truly impactful became too great.
“We were actually on track for really exciting and rewarding careers, but the eagerness of being able to create a definitive positive change is something you can’t hold off. It didn’t take much to convince us, it was simply the idea of making a difference and tackling the poly-crisis [climate and biodiversity crises] while creating a good business and a fantastic place to work,” says Tobias Ørskov Madsen.
Now the entrepreneurs are on the path to prove and build a solid business in the sustainability space, without compromising growth or revenue.
“The investment confirms that there are others who believe in our potential. Now we’re on our way to prove it,” states Christoffer Bouet.
Click to read more funding news.
