Nossa Data Closes a £1.2M Seed Round

Nossa Data, the fintech start-up that is helping corporates to streamline their ESG reporting, has raised a £1.2m seed round led by Symvan Capital and BGF. The round also brings in prominent angel investors as well as follow-on funding from SFC Capital and Techstars.

Founded by Julianne Flesher (CEO) and Irina Dumitrescu (CTO) the pair started the company in 2020 when they repeatedly saw how burdensome ESG disclosure was for companies.

Nossa Data’s software offers companies everything they need to streamline their ESG disclosure in a single place. They offer a number of benefits, including template reporting to the top ESG frameworks including SASB Standards and TCFD, benchmarking of a company’s ESG performance versus its peers, detailed workflow optimisation for peer collaboration and AI insights.

Over the course of 2021 the team fine-tuned their product even further while working directly with hundreds of the world’s largest corporations through a direct partnership with The Workforce Disclosure Initiative (WDI) set up by the NGO, ShareAction.

Nossa Data CEO, Julianne  Flesher, said: “We spoke to the ESG disclosure teams at the world’s largest companies and it was shocking to learn how much time they need to spend on repetitive disclosures. For a large corporation, they are currently expected to respond to about a dozen distinct ESG frameworks - that does not even include the additional ad-hoc investor questionnaires or ESG rating agency requests they receive.

“Getting  to work with an emerging standard like the WDI was an amazing opportunity for our team. Our software enabled all 170 WDI disclosing companies including half of the FTSE 100 such as Unilever, Barclays, AstraZeneca, H&M and more to submit their 2021 data  on key workforce topics. Through this collaboration we have collected  thousands of pieces of product feedback that have directly impacted how our product works today.”

With the funding the team will continue to develop their ESG reporting software and improve customer experience and efficiencies.

Michael Theodosiou, Investment Manager at Symvan Capital, said: “The UK becoming the first G20 country to enshrine TCFD into legislation is a clear demonstration of the increasing  importance of ESG disclosures and practices in society, creating a wealth of opportunities for both impact and returns. Nossa Data's thoughtful 'company-centric' approach combined with a SaaS tool differentiates them from an increasingly crowded field of investor-centric offerings. As early-stage investors, we are also invariably investing in the founders as much as the business, and Julianne and Irina impressed us from the start with passion that is matched with knowledge, pragmatism, and work   ethic, and we are excited to be a part of helping them to succeed on their mission.”

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About Nossa Data:

Nossa Data is revolutionising ESG data management and analytics with the aim to become a global leader in providing environmental, social and governance [ESG] technology. Nossa Data was founded by a team that is collectively driven by a core belief that companies need to adequately measure and improve their ESG performance in order to outperform in the long run.

www.nossadata.com

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About BGF:

• BGF was set up in 2011 and has invested £3bn in more than 460 companies, making it the most active investor in the UK.
• BGF is a minority, non-controlling equity partner with a patient outlook on investments, based on shared long-term goals with the management teams it backs.
• BGF invests in growing businesses in the UK and Ireland through its network of 16 offices.
• BGF models have now been set up in Canada and Australia, with other countries evaluating the opportunity to replicate this.
• www.bgf.co.uk  /  Social media: @BGFinvestments

About Symvan Capital:

• Symvan Capital, established in 2013, is a leading early stage seed and growth stage venture capital fund manager based in London, UK.
• Symvan Capital’s funds invest predominantly in companies that provide B2B SaaS solutions to enterprises.
• Investments made by Symvan Capital’s funds qualify under the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) and the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS), both Government schemes that provide a range of tax reliefs for investors who subscribe for shares in qualifying companies.
• www.symvancapital.com