Lisbon-based GoParity reached its crowdfunding target of €1.2 million in just one hour and is now accepting ‘overfunding’ – inviting the community to become a shareholder. The fintech startup is empowering people and companies to use their money for good and is scaling fast. 

Founded in 2017, GoParity is a pioneering impact finance platform, empowering users to put their money into projects and innovations that are bringing about positive change. The startup opened up an equity crowdfunding round this week and hit its €1.2 million target in just one hour. 

The round was led by the European impact investment fund Mustard Seed Maze (MSM). Given the high demand to participate in the funding, the goal has been raised and the platform is now accepting ‘overfunding’ as it opens up to community investors. 

Impact Investing Platform

Bringing together social and environmental impact projects looking for funding with people who want to invest in sustainability, the goal is to create a ‘green bank’. At the start of the year, we reported on GoParity’s impressive year and identified the main goals for the year ahead. Since then, the team has been busy, helping users invest in sustainability across sectors such as health, eco-fashion, electric mobility, renewable energy, sustainable aquaculture, and education.

The Lisbon-headquartered platform has now gathered together a community of 24k users and has funded about  200 impact projects in several countries around the world, across Europe, South America and Africa. 

Nuno Brito Jorge, CEO, commented: “We’re fully convinced that a purpose and collaboration-driven company like us will do much better if it is partly owned by the community it serves.”

The Funding

Whilst GoParity itself is an investment platform, this time round it was looking for capital to support its growth. The crowdfunding campaign was held on Crowdcube and the target was smashed. Now open to the community, any individual or company can buy shares from 11€.

As investments roll in, it’s clear that there is a high level of support and belief in the platform. One particularly interesting thing to note is that 32% of the investors are women. 

GoParity has to date raised over €1.2 million from private investors (including Mustard Seed Maze (MSM) and Critical Software), business angels, backers and prizes.

Future Plans

The Portuguese startup’s mission is to democratize sustainable finance. By inviting customers and partners to become shareholders and have a say in the future of the company, Goparity aims to lead by example. After the launch of its new app last month at a private event in Lisbon, Goparity now intends to invest in expanding across Europe and Canada and in developing the product by adding new ways to save money and invest. To do this, it will grow the team and is hiring for marketing, development, risk and operations.

“We want to bring impact finance to everyday life so everyone can, in every investment, account or transaction be sure that they’re using their money for good.”