Estonia leads global climate fintech Innovation with highest per capita startups and female founder rate

Tenity VC’s Climate Fintech Report 2024 highlights Estonia as a global leader in climate fintech, showcasing remarkable growth, innovation, and resilience in a rapidly evolving sector. The report reveals Estonia’s standout performance, with the country leading on several key metrics, including climate fintechs per capita and the rate of female founders.

For the third consecutive year, Tenity has analyzed a comprehensive database of over 750 innovative startups, providing global insights into funding, founder demographics, and market trends. The 2024 edition specifically spotlights Estonia’s dynamic contributions to climate fintech, emphasizing the country’s success in fostering sustainable financial solutions.

Estonia Key Findings from the 2024 Tenity Climate Fintech Report:

Estonia’s Funding Surge: Estonia experienced a strong 24% increase in funding for climate fintech startups in 2023 compared to 2022, defying the global trend of a 23% decline in funding. This impressive growth highlights Estonia’s commitment to driving innovation and sustainability within the financial technology space.

Female Founder Leadership: Estonia holds the top spot globally for female founders in climate fintech, with 44% of startups having at least one female co-founder. This figure puts Estonia ahead of other leading markets like Canada (43%) and the UK (42%), emphasizing its dedication to gender diversity and inclusion in the tech and innovation sectors.

Top of the World for Climate Fintechs per Capita: Estonia leads globally in terms of climate fintechs per million inhabitants, boasting 11.8 startups in this category. This statistic underlines the country’s deep focus on sustainable financial technologies.

Strength in Digital Investment Solutions and Carbon Offset Markets & Credits: Estonia excels in Digital Investment Solutions and Carbon Offset Markets & Credits, with many startups overlapping across both categories. This strength is further reflected in the funding distribution, as the majority of investment flows into these areas. In contrast, ESG Data & Analytics Solutions are underperforming in Estonia compared to global trends.

A Growing but Less Mature Ecosystem: Estonia’s climate fintech ecosystem is still in the early stages of development compared to markets like the UK, with the majority of Estonia’s Climate Fintech companies having been founded between 2020 and 2022. Only 6.25% of Estonian climate fintechs are at the Series A growth stage, while the UK has 27.44% of its companies at this stage, which is reflected in the higher average funding rounds in the UK.

Commenting on the findings, Uve Poom, Tallinn Hub Head of Operations, stated: “Estonia’s performance in this year’s Tenity Climate Fintech Report highlights our nation’s commitment to fostering innovation in fintech, particularly in areas that drive sustainability and climate action. Our remarkable funding growth and leading rate of female founders are testaments to the dynamic and inclusive ecosystem we are building in Estonia.”

Tenity is the leading global innovation ecosystem and early-stage VC with offices in Zurich, Singapore, Tallinn, Madrid, London, and Istanbul. Tenity’s vision is to accelerate the future of finance by bringing together ambitious founders with leading companies, investors, and mentors. Today, Tenity counts six hubs, runs corporate innovation programs in more than 15 countries, has worked with 65+ corporate partners and has supported more than 1600 startups through its programs.

Go to Tenity’s website to review the full report.

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