Ecomill

This interview details Ecomill, a company based in Italy. The interview is with Chiara Candelise, CEO & Founder of Ecomill.

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What is the origin story of Ecomill?

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Ecomill became operational in 2019 in Italy with the launch of the first equity crowdfunding project. However, the original idea dates back to 2012, when CEO and founder Chiara Candelise, then resident in London, witnessed the launch of the first crowd platforms dedicated to the energy sector.

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Ecomill is today a crowd-investing platform dedicated to energy transition and sustainability.

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Ecomill allows Proponents to raise capital according to the highest industry standards by involving a vast audience of crowd investors, whether retail or professional. Crowd Investors, on the other hand, allow them to invest in a reliable and disintermediated way (having direct access to all the information on projects and initiatives), generating economic returns and a positive environmental and social impact.

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The Ecomill team is made up of experts in the energy, finance and communication sectors, able to carry out due diligence in accordance with the standards of international financial institutions and present the selected initiatives according to communication best practices.

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What are some of the biggest challenges facing Ecomill in the future?

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The theme of renewable energy communities will certainly be at the center of Ecomill's next opportunities and challenges. Moreover, thanks to the possibility of operating in accordance with the new EU directive on crowdfunding, we are working to extend our offering to other financial instruments, including lending crowdfunding, thus offering proponents and investors a multiplicity of services and solutions.

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What is unique about Ecomill compared to competitors?

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What makes Ecomill rather unique is our positioning as a platform dedicated to green and sustainable projects, with a strong attention to positive impacts on real economy and local communities. This is clearly showcased by the projects we have funded to date, by the experience of our team, by our partners and our network made up of associations, media and journalists, social entrepreneurs, accelerators and incubators.

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Among our partners, we must mention Banca Etica, which carries out an in-depth analysis of each project on the platform, with a view to assigning ESG (Environmental, Social & Governance) validation. The positive ESG evaluation is an important certification, which demonstrates the quality of the project in accordance with these three fundamental parameters and sends a clear signal to our investors of the coherence of the project with our unique positioning.

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In addition, we have as our institutional shareholders the Giordano Dell'Amore Social Venture Foundation (or “FSVGDA”) and Coopfond. FSVGDA was founded in 2017 in the wake of the patrimonial and value legacy of two historic Lombard philanthropic entities: Fondazione Opere Sociali (“FOS”) and Fondazione Giordano Dell'Amore (“FGDA”). To date, FSVGDA represents the strategic and operational arm of Fondazione Cariplo in the field of Impact Investing and intends to contribute concretely and inclusively to the dissemination of the sector and the development of entrepreneurship with a social vocation in Italy and Europe. Coopfond manages the mutual fund of Legacoop (one of the two main Italian cooperative association) for the promotion  and development of cooperatives.

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What are some other relevant metrics of the company (growing area size, production quantity, team size, etc.)?

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2023 ended with over 2.5 million euros raised and a growth of 120% compared to 2022.

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This has been the result of everyone's collaboration: old and new investors, proponents, partners and internal team. A huge thank you to everyone who has been contributing to this success, which makes Ecomill the fifth Italian crowd-investing platform in 2023 (data: Crowdfunding Buzz).

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In 2023, we also have expanded the range of projects, spanning from sustainable agriculture, renewable and energy efficiency, circular economy, and sustainable mobility to urban regeneration.

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In 2023, we have also innovated in terms of services offered, by launching in fall 2023 the first Italian equity crowdfunding campaign on a cooperative, City Campus. We have also implemented for the first time the Matchfunding tool developed thanks to the partnership with Coopfond, which has invested 250k in the projects matching investments from the crowd.

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What are some goals in 2024 and beyond for Ecomill?

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In 2024, we will strengthen our positioning by further investments, which will support the expansion of the financial services offered, including lending crowdfunding. It will also be the year of the take-off of the “Renewable Energy Communities” sector, where the crowdinvesting tools find a perfect application and on which we are already strongly positioned thanks to our expertise and track record in the field. It is also our intention to further expand the offering to the cooperative sector, which well fits with our positioning.

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How can people connect with you or learn more about Ecomill?

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People can connect to our website www.ecomill.it and also follow us on our social networks, Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter/X (@Ecomill_it), Telegram. We also recommend subscribing to our newsletters (https://www.ecomill.it/login/).

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