Green Channel, a new crowdfunding platform at the heart of the energy transition

The idea for developing the crowdfunding platform came to Mathieu Dancre at the beginning of 2014, while he was still working at ENGIE and preparing for the COP21. Now, after its official kickoff on October 6^th at ENGIE’s headquarters at La Défense, the first round of crowdfunding is set to begin directly on GreenChannel.fr. “The carbon market is a central part of efforts currently underway worldwide on the subject of climate change”, explains Matthieu, who works to encourage more local action that more directly addresses issues affecting the neighbors of wind and solar power plants... “By helping to finance these programs, citizens become more deeply implicated in the fight against climate change.”

Intrapreneurship plus the experience of a major corporation

Its young founder took advantage of the ENGIE Group’s incubation program starting in December 2014. For him, this immersive experience helped to develop the project’s maturity, bring together a solid team and develop the actual GreenChannel platform.“The most important aspects included stabilizing the financial mechanism, identifying sponsors and setting up a roadmap”, says Matheiu. Launching GreenChannel not only involved creating a business but also obtaining all of the necessary official permits. “I met with various experts from the ENGIE Group, who were willing to share their expertise and to give a ‘second opinion’ on some difficult issues,” Mathieu says. ENGIE’s assistance provided real help through the incubation process and regular progress reports. “GreenChannel would never have been possible were it not for ENGIE’s support,” he added.

Becoming a player in the energy transition

GreenChannel is now launching its first two crowdfunding campaigns. The first will be located in the Var, and the second one in Corsica. “These programs will serve as tests for us, with investments of 300,000 and 600,000 euros respectively,” says Mathieu, who doesn’t hide his goal of launching 20 participative projects in 2016.The lowest contribution is 500 euros, and investors will be recruited through green energy programs, social networks, and major corporations from France and internationally. ‘We want to give everyone the opportunity to invest with conviction, to become a player in the energy transition, and to provide a return on investment starting the first year.”

Join us at GreenChannel.fr and follow us on social media - @greenchannelfr

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