NewAlpha is pleased to announce the first investment by this fund in a €2.3 million capital increase in Heoh to accelerate the development of its innovative technology platform for donations at payment terminals.
NewAlpha Asset Management (“NewAlpha”), the Paris-based global emerging manager acceleration specialist, launched its first dedicated FinTech Venture Capital fund at end-November 2015.
A pioneer in the collaborative economy, Heoh plans to raise €60 million for NGOs in the next 5 years while offering merchants and payments companies an innovative charitable service that complements existing solutions.
Ghislain d’Alançon, specialist in means of payment, and Antoine Vaccaro, specialist in philanthropy, set up Heoh in 2012 to offer consumers a simple direct way to finance charitable projects through a new fund-raising circuit on electronic payment terminals and bank cards. In 2013, Heoh was labeled a “Charity Finance Innovator” by International competitiveness labeller Finance Innovation.
To underpin its future development Heoh has struck major partnerships with leading companies in the payment industry (Ingenico Group, AVEO Group, banks), the IT sector (IBM, Microsoft, Les Comptoirs, Astek, among others) and with top NGOs.
Its aims are:
- to increase the financing capacity of charities
- to reduce the cost of collecting donations
- to allow means of payment companies, merchants and consumer-givers a common innovative tool for promoting the charitable economy
Heoh has raised €3.4 million in the 12 last months to finance their technological innovation and operations and is now marketing their GoodTransaction solution.
This high-value and exportable offering takes place in a propitious context for innovating finance. NGO financing is in a critical situation (less government support, economic stagnation, etc.) while social, cultural, humanitarian, ecological and medical needs are rising. At the same time, new aspirations to social responsibility are having a considerable impact on consumption and driving new demands for brands. The projected rise in the number of card payments is another driver for the development of consumer-giving.
“The scope of application and developmental possibilities of the technology are massive and impact all methods of payment, billing and management on behalf of third parties. The quality of Heoh's management, pilots run in 2015, and interest among our investors in the value added by Heoh to their own businesses looks highly promising”, said Lior Derhy, Managing Director responsible for Private Equity at NewAlpha.
Ghislain d’Alançon, President and founder of Heoh, added “NewAlpha's name recognition and the quality of its ecosystem, including banks and insurance companies, and the partnerships already in place with the team, will reinforce our capacity and ambition to develop our solutions on a grand scale while improving the quality of the customer experience.”
Subscribed by institutional investors, the fund managed by NewAlpha aims to build and grow a diversified portfolio of promising innovative projects in the different sectors of FinTech and InsurTech. It is also intended to keep an active watch on developments in financial services (innovative initiatives, new practices) and the technological changes that impact the banking, insurance and investment management industries.
“The investment in Heoh, an innovative player in payment systems, is a perfect fit with the socially responsible profile that NewAlpha seeks to promote in the financial industry.” concluded Antoine Rolland, President of NewAlpha.