Case Study: Bloom Impact Investing - Democratising climate impact investments
In this article we take a look at one of our 2022 Impact Investment Awards finalists, Bloom Impact Investing.
About Bloom Impact Investing
Founded in 2019, Bloom Impact Investing is focused on disrupting and democratising the impact investing market by making unlisted green investments such as solar and wind farms widely accessible. It was launched by Camille Socquet-Clerc and Bertrand Caron who wanted to prove generating a return and saving the planet aren’t mutually exclusive. The business is timely given the growth of impact investing in Australia; the Responsible Investment Association of Australasia (RIAA) estimates that the impact investing market in Australia will grow five-fold from $20 billion today to $100 billion within five years.
Impact Investing with Bloom
Bloom set out to make impact investing more accessible for regular Australians. They do this by providing an opportunity for individual customers to invest as little as $100 (with no brokerage fees), with trusts and companies also able to invest for a minimum of $5,000. Customers are able to invest in tangible companies and infrastructure projects covering over 50 different climate solutions where, importantly, the impact is measurable.
“I wanted to invest in sustainable and climate positive investments, but most opportunities were restricted to wholesale and institutional investors by buying into individual stocks. I saw an opportunity to create an avenue for people like me who wanted to invest, but who didn’t have $50,000 to spare and endless amounts of free time to research which companies would deliver the best returns and genuine climate impact.”
Camille Socquet-Clerc | Bloom Impact Investing CEO & Co-Founder
In December 2022, Bloom were recognised for their contribution to the Australian impact investing ecosystem at the 2022 Impact Investment Awards by an expert panel of judges. Bloom were nominated as finalists for the ‘Impact Market Builder of the Year’ award, where finalists were selected based on their work building the impact investing ecosystem, including their collaboration with others through relevant partnerships.
The future for Bloom
Bloom Impact Investing have capitalised on the growing awareness and concern around climate change in Australia. In January 2023, with over $1.6m funds under management, the company raised a successfully $525,000 seed round, backed by Euphemia, the family office of Up co-founder Dominic Pym, together with Envato founders Collis and Cyan Ta’eed.
“Australians are acutely aware of the climate crisis and Bloom helps put the power back in their hands by investing in the industries and solutions addressing the climate crisis today.”
Dominic Pym | Euphemia Co-founder and Director
The funds will be used to hire a full-time business development resource, improve operations and grow the community. Additionally, former FutureSuper founder Adam Verwey has been appointed as its Executive Director. He will lead Bloom’s community, partnerships and operations to boost the company's ability to deliver its intended impact on planet and people.
Chairperson of Envato, Collis Ta’eed said: “We’ve been really impressed to see how much the Bloom team have done in just one short year, launching a product, attracting everyday Australians to collectively invest over $1.6m, and building out a portfolio of consequential and impactful investments”
The Bloom app is available to Australian residents only, and is available for download on both the Apple and Play stores.