Climate fintech startup Ekko raises £2m

A climate-focused fintech startup that plants trees and supports conservation projects when customers use its debit card has raised $2.5m (£2m) in funding.

Ekko, which was founded in 2019, said it plans to use the funding to hire “leading industry experts” who can support product development and international expansion.

Investment firm Fuel Ventures led the funding round, with further capital provided by Sorven Partners, Mishcon de Reya and existing investors.

The London-based startup previously secured £450,000 in pre-seed funding in 2021.

Co-founded by Oli Cook, Manish Vara, Simon Toller and Tom Greenwood, Ekko has developed a debit card that tracks the carbon footprint of purchases.

It has partnered with organisations including Gold Standard, Conservation International, Tusk, and Prevented Ocean Plastic to plant trees and collect “ocean-bound plastic” when consumers make purchases. Conservation activities are paid for by a subscription fee, which ranges from £1.99 to £9.99 per month.

The startup has also developed B2B software to plug into banking or checkout apps to offer its climate services to third parties.

“Ekko is a very scalable business, and we’re looking forward to seeing the wider influence that this raise will have on our product growth and impact partners, too,” said Cook.

“The time to act on our current climate situation is now. With this raise, we aim to be the disruptor in the market and enable banks, fintechs, and payment providers to empower their customers to have a tangible and meaningful impact on our world.”

Ekko is not alone in billing itself as a green fintech company. Both Tandem and Tred provide what they call “sustainable” financial services.