When Diagram Ventures introduced Inovia Partner Magaly Charbonneau to CEO Charles Assaf in December 2020, she recognized Novisto’s potential and was eager to build a strong relationship with the team and follow its progress. Three years later, Inovia’s Venture Fund V is proud to lead Novisto’s Series B round alongside Whitestar, Diagram, Portage and Scor Ventures. Novisto is the sixth investment to date from the fund since its closing in June 2022 and one that we are very excited about. Here is why.
A Growing Market Opportunity
It is a crucial moment for adopting Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) disclosures by companies that are accelerating across a broad customer base. This trend has been building momentum for the past 20 years, driven by a broad range of public and private institutions. In the early 1990s, fewer than 20 publicly traded firms issued reports with any ESG data. By 2010, only 35% of the S&P 500 included ESG reports. In 2021, more than 90% of the S&P 500 and 70% of Russell 1000 companies published ESG reports in some form.
Two key factors are driving adoption: the increasing maturity of frameworks and the growing number of regulations from governments internationally. Standards and frameworks have converged, resulting in a clearer structure around how to report ESG metrics. Meanwhile, companies are being spurred to adopt ESG reports by new government regulations, such as the EU’s sustainability disclosure requirements, which will be phased in between 2024-2028.
The Novisto team identified this opportunity and the need for a solution to satisfy business users’ expectations. They built a modern, user-friendly experience instrumental in simplifying reporting due to the intricacies currently limiting incumbents’ ability to address the market.
Their market-leading platform rapidly found product-market fit and has a broader focus on ESG issues, allowing it to complement the large volume of carbon accounting focused tools currently available in the market. Management’s strong execution has led to rapid adoption by several Fortune 500 companies.
Strong Team, Strong Execution
We believe a forward-thinking vision is only as strong as the team executing it. Novisto’s founder and CEO, Charles Assaf, brings the visionary leadership required to build a leading company. Together with the company’s board, they have assembled a team of seasoned experts with extensive experience in scaling businesses, enterprise technology, and ESG reporting. This depth of complementary skill sets is a distinct strength for a company of Novisto’s size.
Among the strong leadership team is Marie-Josée Privyk (Chief ESG Innovation Officer), who brings over 30 years of experience in capital markets, including 12 years in corporate sustainability reporting.
A promising future
As ESG transparency is rapidly becoming a must-have for companies of all sizes, a unique opportunity exists to build a global leader in the emerging and rapidly growing sustainability reporting market. Novisto is uniquely positioned to be that leader and enable companies to create value from their ESG strategy, data, and reporting.
Novisto has built a strong foundation and has already seen significant success in the market. This Series B financing will allow the company to take advantage of the growing demand for ESG data management and reporting, and scale its operations and product offerings into new geographies.
An enduring company is the combination of a talented team, an outstanding product, and a market with great potential. Novisto meets these criteria and has the potential to become a global leader in ESG reporting and management. We’re honored to be part of their journey!