Indian platform helps BFSI sector track, reduce, and report on environmental impact
StepChange, a leading enterprise sustainability platform, has secured investment from global venture capital firm Flourish Ventures to fuel its growth plans in the banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI) sector.
Founded in 2022 by MIT graduates Ankit Jain and Dr. Sidhant Pai, StepChange offers a suite of integrated solutions designed to help large enterprises and financial institutions track, improve, and report on their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance, with a particular focus on carbon accounting and climate risk management.
The company boasts a talented team of over 50 individuals, including software engineers, climate scientists, and business development professionals. StepChange is also guided by an advisory board featuring renowned experts on leadership, strategy, and innovation in corporate sustainability.
StepChange is dedicated to developing climate decision-making capabilities within the Indian BFSI sector. They partner with industry and government bodies to build capacity, while simultaneously offering targeted and affordable sustainability solutions.
In just 18 months, StepChange has become a partner of choice for numerous large enterprises across various sectors. Their advanced emission estimation capabilities have already been used to account for over 450 million tonnes of CO2e, a significant portion of which comes from the financed emissions of top Indian banks.
“Our vision is to build a comprehensive and financially accessible suite of sustainability solutions for BFSI stakeholders across both developing and developed economies,” said Dr. Sidhant Pai, co-founder and chief science officer at StepChange.
The new funding will allow StepChange to further improve its capabilities and expand its reach across India and other developing economies.
“The timing to invest is apt,” said Mr. Harsh Gupta, principal, India, at Flourish Ventures. “This investment aligns with India’s central bank’s recent guidelines for financial institutions to incorporate climate risk into their decision-making.”
Mr. Tilman Ehrbeck, co-founder and managing partner at Flourish Ventures, added, “StepChange is a powerful example of the type of globally relevant innovation coming out of India that we are keen to support.”