Raphael Bitterman, Co-Founder
01. Describe the problem/industry you want to intervene on.
There is a disconnect between ESG data and economic and business realities due to ESG data collection being skewed towards profit-driven capital markets and a lack of authentication of the data being collected. Raz Finance aims to fill this gap.
The exact UNSDGs we resolve depend on the datasets being processed.
02. How did the idea to create a company come to mind? How was your team?
Raphael has been leading entrepreneurial initiatives aimed at creating efficient trading platforms for virtual commodities for over 15 years. This started in the diamond industry and expanded into the global hemp market four years ago. It was through his innovative trading initiatives in the hemp market that he got into regenerative agriculture and supply chain sourcing and met co-founder Miriam Davidovic, an expert in impact finance and a passionate organic farmer herself. As the two began collaborating to address the pain points in the emerging regeneration economy space it quickly became clear that transparent and relevant data was critical to the flow of aligned capital into this much needed space.
03. Why did you choose to participate in the Paris Techstars accelerator program? What are you looking forward to the most?
Over the past year our business assumptions have been validated through our Proof of Concept digital platform. We are now at that fragile inflection point between PoC and true mission-driven enterprise. So we were looking for the right environment to help us accelerate this transformation from a PoC to a viable business and we were fortunate to be referred by the Managing Director of Techstars who understood our inherent value proposition and its compatibility with the Paris accelerator Techstars. program.
04. Which people are you most proud of in your initial journey with your company?
Having gone through several startup journeys in our respective careers we know very well that every milestone achieved in a startup’s journey is something to be proud of. Despite this, we are extremely proud that our thinking and hypothesis regarding our business venture have been validated by thought leaders in impact finance and executives at leading sustainable development conglomerates.
05. How do you plan to measure the positive impact of your company in the next 5 years?
Measuring impact is at the heart of our business – it’s what we do. Therefore, through the existence and activity of our business, we are creating a positive impact. For that reason the number of active stakeholders on our platform will be one of the main measures of our impact.
For the latest news on our application, please visit our page.
