ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) reporting is increasingly important for SMEs: improved risk management, reputation and brand value, access to funding, competitive advantage and operational efficiency. But SMEs still face challenges when it comes to ESG reporting: complex standards, data collection, limited expertise and lack of adequate systems to efficiently collect and manage ESG data. 

Fintech and IT platforms can provide tools for SMEs to gather and report ESG data more efficiently. Those solutions can be ESG reporting software, data integration and collection tools, and monitoring and tracking software. Those tools can help SMEs meet the reporting requirements associated with sustainable finance. They also allow SME’s stakeholders like banks to receive sustainability quality data that is comparable and actionable. 

Companies presenting their tools

• Gprnt - Greenprint - Singapore
  Gprnt is a sustainability SaaS platform that helps financial institutions, corporates, and governments collect trusted ESG data from their value chains. Through smart integrations and AI, your stakeholders such as business units, suppliers and customers can easily complete a basic sustainability report in minutes, helping you to reduce reporting costs, manage risks, unlock green finance and accelerate decarbonization. 
   
• Project Perseus - UK - Perseus makes it easier for UK SMEs to access green financing by automating their sustainability reporting. With Perseus, SMEs can share accurate emissions data calculated on assurable usage and carbon intensity - enabling better benchmarking, analysis, action and measurable impact. Currently in Pilot stage, it is being developed by a group including commercial businesses, public bodies and trade associations, with support from the UK Government. 
   
• SixPoint Capital Management - US - Sixpoint tech platform provides social impact reporting and mapping to UN SDGs and GIIN IRIS+ metrics.  
   
• Cascade Debt - Canada - 
  Cascade works with multiple funds to provide independently SME verified data that increases trust, transparency, and collaboration for all counterparties. 
   
• Palo IT - Global
  Palo IT is a global technology consultancy that designs, develops and scales digital and sustainable products and services to unlock value across the triple bottom line: people, planet, profit. 

Joel Low, Public Sector and Partnerships Lead, Gprnt 

Joel leads public sector and partnerships in Gprnt (pronounced “Greenprint”), forging collaboration with both public and private sector stakeholders to deliver a national utility platform for sustainability disclosures. He was a part of the team that founded Gprnt from the Monetary Authority of Singapore.  

Gavin Starks, Founder and CEO, Icebreaker One 

Gavin helps design and implement data sharing at company, sector, national and international scale. He has created over a dozen companies, employing 100’s of people, and delivering $100M’s in measurable impact. He co-chaired the development of the Open Banking Standard, co-chaired the UK Smart Data Council, and was founding CEO of the Open Data Institute. He has mentored, chaired, and been a director of over 40 organisations across diverse sectors. He currently runs data governance organisation ib1.org to accelerate our Net Zero Future. 

Matthew Kelly, Head of Sustainability, Development Bank of Wales 

Dr Matthew Kelly, is Head of Sustainability at the Development Bank of Wales, with particular interests in SME and Agricultural climate finance. Prior to this role he completed his PhD in economic geography, focussed on his interests in Spatial Finance and approaches of small nations and devolved governments to climate finance, building on his early career in Geo-FinTech.  

Mike Shum, CEO, Cascade Debt

Mike Shum is a revolutionary force in the private debt market. He is a highly innovative and inspiring 3x founder with extensive experience in both investments and data science. Mike is the visionary CEO of Cascade Debt—the all-in-one debt platform that has singlehandedly modernized and simplified the entire debt industry.