Frederic Schrapp (co-founder & CEO), Antoine Lefebvre (CTO), and Vincent Bustarret (CMO)
01. Describe the problem/industry you want to intervene on.
Although the big French banking groups are responsible for emitting 3.3 billion tons of CO2 from 2021 (ie eight times France’s emissions), changing the world through finance has become a firm conviction, because the tool most powerful to shake things up. up and respond to social and environmental problems. We are entering a situation where the traditional way banks operate, supporting projects that are destructive to the planet and people, is no longer viable.
For example, in the field of energy, the figures for the sector are extremely significant: the largest banking groups have allocated less than 400 billion dollars to oil and gas projects in the last five years, according to calculations by the British association. Share Action.
The wave of impact banks is growing, backed by citizens’ aspirations for a better world. canB financial products empower their holders and make them, without any effort, the committed people they want to be.
Through its network of 32 NGOs, canB is supporting the seventeen SDGs and will accelerate its development to increase its impact in the fight against global warming in particular.
02. How did the idea to create a company come to mind? How was your team?
During his fourteen years as a photovoltaic entrepreneur, Frederic Schrapp’s ambition to combat global warming grew ever stronger.
When he realized that it is not easy as an individual to contribute to the necessary changes due to lack of time or resources, his frustration was reinforced when he discovered that he was shared by 70% of the population, who would like their money to be positive influence. In contrast, only 24% feel traditional banks are playing the game. By 2018, the fintech regulatory revolution was in full swing, but changes for the public good were still too scary from his perspective. That’s when he decided to launch canB, with the intention of reinventing banking to make it more ethical.
Through the name canB – “can be” – the company shows that it is possible to easily become agents of change, on a daily basis, with transparency.
03. Why did you choose to participate in the Paris Techstars accelerator program? What are you looking forward to the most?
A year after launching the Impact account and card, we were starting to get to know our customers well and get feedback on the product as we envisioned it. Technically the product was working great, but we realized that we had to rethink the simplicity of the customer experience (even if it meant removing some features) and revise the business model (by abandoning the Freemium offer) . But these necessary decisions meant strengthening our offer with a new product that would have more impact. The objective was clear: to invest our customers’ savings directly in sustainable projects rather than giving a fraction of our customers’ spending to charities.
It was at this stage of the process that we joined the Techstars program. It was a perfect time to challenge our ideas, structure our action plan and seek funding.
The least we can say is that we are not disappointed!
The content of the workshops offered to us by talented speakers, the wise advice of our inspiring mentors… During three months they all push us to our limits, to save us an infinite amount of time.
04. Which people are you most proud of in your initial journey with your company?
We officially launched the service in April 2021, much to the delight of all the teams who worked on the project for two years.
In the past year, 3,000 people have opened bank accounts. In total, that amounts to nearly 90,000 euros donated to non-profit projects! We hope to have 12,000 active accounts open within a year, and 50,000 accounts in three years.
05. How do you plan to measure the positive impact of your company in the next 5 years? A question focused on the environment.
To maximize our impact, we are building a revolutionary savings account to turn every sleeping euro into a useful euro. We are sure that this product meets a strong demand: 8% of French people expect their bank to offer a socially responsible savings product based on solidarity (3% consider this the main criterion of their “ideal bank”).
For the latest news on our application, please visit our page.
