Climate FinTech startup Cogo wins HSBC pitch competition at Singapore FinTech Festival 22

HONG KONG , Nov. 9, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ — Carbon footprint tracking expert Cogo is celebrating winning the ‘HSBC pitch competition’ which formed part of the ‘HSBC Digital Hive’ ahead of the Singapore FinTech Festival (SFF) last week. Involving six of what HSBC called “the smartest tech startups…” pit themselves against their peers with just three minutes to impress a panel of HSBC’s global judges, criteria including potential to create impact and how distinctive and different the product is from current approaches. Cogo’s win is consistent with the company’s belief that Asia will soon become one of its biggest markets, alongside Europe, the UK, NZ and Australia. Cogo’s participation in the pitch competition coincided with their participation in two of the biggest events on Asia’s FinTech calendar – Hong Kong FinTech Week and the Singapore FinTech Festival.

The company’s technology empowers people and businesses globally to understand, measure and reduce their carbon footprint through their everyday banking apps and accounting software. The technology is currently used by seven of the world’s top 50 banks (with plans to double this in the next twelve months) who have 50 million digital banking users between them, with plans to have the solution available to 200 million by the end of 2023.

“We are at a pivotal point in history where climate action, if taken decisively and strategically, can truly change the world for good,” said Josh Dry, Cogo’s APAC Business Development Director. He adds that “Globally, most banks are already on a journey to reduce their operational emissions. Carbon footprint management tools enable them to bring customers, who together have at least 100 times the bank’s footprint, on the journey to deliver planet-saving measures at scale, with benefits to the bottom line.”

“Globally, understanding the climate impact of your costs has changed from being ‘good to know’ to something customers are demanding. We believe that giving customers the ability to align their spending with their environmental and social values ​​will soon become a major draw for Asian banks,” adds Julie Lindenberg, Cogo’s managing director for APAC.

How it works
Cogo Personal and Business Carbon Manager solutions enrich transaction data – for example consumption of electricity and fuel – and assign carbon emissions to each transaction. Cogo can then calculate a carbon footprint for the individual or company. In addition, customers can also access tailored advice on the actions they can take to make simple, positive changes to reduce their carbon footprint. For businesses, the optimized end-to-end solution also enables customers to share their progress, which can help them retain and attract customers, positively impacting the company’s bottom line.

Asian consumers demand ‘environmental purpose’
Cogo’s expansion into Asia comes as Asian consumers have expressed growing climate concerns and expectations. Late last year, Kantar revealed that an astonishing 58% of Asian consumers feel they have been personally affected by environmental issues. Moreover, Kantar goes on to say that “Consumers want brands to embrace this new mindset and sensibility and help them on their journey. They look for social and environmental purposes. And the most active consumers influence others to start thinking this way too.”

In Hong Kong, 68% of people have said they want to take more action when it comes to sustainable consumption (Sustainable Consumption Report 2018 by HK Consumer Council); while 85% of Singaporean consumers want access to carbon footprint information in their banking app (DBS Consumer Sustainability Survey 2021)

Corner advantage for the first man
Cogo has recently announced partnerships with Asian FinTech innovators Moneythor, Moneytree and Planto. Cogo is also testing a carbon footprint calculator with some of OCBC Bank’s customers (Singapore).

“Our message to Asian banks is simple – first mover banks that enable their customers to make more informed spending decisions will have a clear competitive advantage. We are very pleased that HSBC has recognized the planet-changing potential of our technology. It’s time to change how our money works, and Cogo is proud to enable this change,” concludes Josh.

About Cogo
Cogo is a carbon footprint management product that helps individuals and businesses measure, reduce and offset their impact on the climate.

Cogo does this through partnerships with some of the world’s largest banks to integrate leading carbon tracking functionality into their banking apps via
open banking technology. Cogo uses best-in-class models to provide accurate ways to measure carbon emissions specific to local markets and cutting-edge behavioral science techniques to push customers to make more sustainable choices.

Cogo currently works with seven of the world’s largest banks, including Commbank (Australia), NatWest (UK) and ING (Netherlands) and currently helps over a million customers worldwide to track their carbon footprint.

Originally founded in New Zealand in 2016, Cogo now employs over 100 people and operates in 12 countries across Europe and the Asia-Pacific, including the UK, New Zealand, Australia, Japan and Singapore. Cogo has raised over $10 million in funding since launch.

To find out more information about Cogo, please visit cogo.co.

Learn more at cogo.co.

Jody Boshoff, PR Manager – APAC
Cogo
27 397 3115
[email protected]