Eric Sauvage, Edenred’s Executive Vice President, Marketing & Strategy, said: “As the world leader in earmarked funds solutions, Edenred actively works within the fintech ecosystem to drive sustainable value creation that benefits everyone. We’re thrilled to be supporting RAISE and investing in the Seed for Good fund. This investment is in line with our open innovation strategy and above all our purpose, ‘Enrich connections. For good.’ It will ensure we can keep using Tech for Good to build the innovative, sustainable and impactful services of tomorrow alongside European startups.”
As an investor in the fund, Edenred will act as a partner in identifying trends and pre-empting tomorrow’s best tech opportunities. The Group will also encourage up-and-comers innovating to break new ground in their industries and make a positive social or environmental impact through their initiatives. Edenred will be able to draw on market intelligence from the RAISE teams – who meet with several hundred startups in France and Europe each year – and will form part of the wider RAISE Sherpas ecosystem. Projects will be possible with startups in the portfolio, aiming to advance sustainability, build long-term partnerships or accelerate co-investments and strategic acquisitions. Edenred will facilitate interaction between its teams and Seed for Good startups to help its employees learn and share best practices and operational feedback, reinvent themselves and thrive amid digital and sustainability transformation.
This investment is part of Edenred’s global open innovation approach:
- The Group has been working with Partech Ventures to support young, fast-growing companies involved in the digital economy, in areas such as software as a service (SaaS), e-commerce platforms and new means of payment. The Group has also invested in the Partech Africa fund more specifically to explore the African market, where mobile payment and e-commerce are booming.
- Edenred founded its own corporate venture capital unit, Edenred Capital Partners, to acquire minority stakes in companies with high growth potential working in areas related to its businesses, thereby driving mutual value creation through synergies. Edenred Capital Partners recently acquired interests in Zenchef, Andjaro, AddWorking and Fretlink in France, LaunchPad Recruits, Beamery and Fuse Universal in the United Kingdom, Beekeeper in Switzerland and Candex in the United States.
- Edenred also operates Edenred Factory, an international intrapreneurship program that encourages the Group’s employees to become entrepreneurs by supporting their innovative, high-potential startup projects internally.
