Impact Startup

Wanting to promote small affordable projects with strong economic growth and a societal impact INFRABOOST has developed criteria to select Impact projects and has developed a methodology to bring these projects to the bankability phase.

DEFINITION

Impact finance is a current trend in the financial sphere. This tool which makes it possible to put finance at the service of society by promoting projects with a high societal impact comes up against the fact that there is still no precise definition of the tool. Based on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations, INFRABOOST has put in place a definition grid for "Impact projects” in the magnitude of 1 to 10m€.
The experience of INFRABOOST seats in very large projects for which the commitment of the public partner, the general interest and the public service are key. This definition together with Infraboost methodology to assess projects has led to the creation of a portfolio open to investment constantly renewed.

Examples of Impacts project can be found with startups, micro PPPs , or SME in development.

CRITERIA	DEFINITION	MEASURE
SOCIAL BENEFIT	Main object of the project is to bring benefice in any way to citizen. It can be an innovation, a concept or a new way of doing an existing business that benefits to citizen. It has to answer to a need and a customer pain point.	ncluded in company’s act of creation as main purpose. Market study: is there a market? How to enter the market? How to stay in the market? How to grow in the market? Clients’ analysis: who are the clients/users?
GROWTH	Project has to generate local or national economic growth on a long term basis meaning being profitable and robust over a long term period.	Project full risk analysis Financial Robustness of Business Plan to stress test Financial robustness on long term : BP over 10- 15 years to include robustness to market evolutions and life cycle costs EBITDA, Project Profit and Payback
EMPLOYMENT	Creation of long term jobs over the project duration (direct and indirect).	1 project = min 10 new long term jobs; Project should include program to improve employees knowhow & qualification so they can improve their positions.
KNOWLEDGE TRANSMISSION	Know-how of the promoters in their fields of activity and also social education making people able to create or support new projects.	Project has to be based on a sector or domain knowhow and has to demonstrate that it is transferable. Social education has to be promoted on long term.
CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT	Technical aspects of the project dealing with climate impact and environment.	No climate nor environment adverse behavior, promoting actions pro climate changes and environment protection
GENDER & DIVERSITY	Equal treatment of people with same capacity.	Promote gender equity, promote social equity.
TEAM	Team developing and operating the project, their main stakeholders (suppliers, advisers).	Team leader engagement & entrepreneurship; Team skills; Project’s organization. Team capacity to implement and operate the project. How do their earn their money?

METHODOLOGY

Pour que les projets d'impact soient développés et deviennent à terme une classe d'actifs, il faut s’assurer qu'ils répondent aux attentes du marché financier. Comme leur objectif principal est d'amener une croissance forte et durable, il était nécessaire de développer une méthodologie pour sélectionner les projets qui satisferaient les investisseurs.

For Impact Projects to be developed , implemented and scaled so that it becomes an asset class, we must ensure that they also satisfy the expectation of the financial market. Since their prime objective is to bring about strong and sustainable growth, it was necessary to develop a methodology for selecting projects that would satisfy investors. Projects are scrutinized with a methodical analysis to ensure their long-term feasibility, economic and financial robustness. Because these projects belong to an asset class which is not yet stabilized, they must present a strong profitability profile in the short term with strong upside. INFRABOOST has built its own methodology, based on 9 key questions allowing it to present projects to investors in an Executive Summary and a detailed Information Memorandum.

9 KEY QUESTIONS

WHAT IS THE PROBLEM ?
1. WHAT IS THE NEED
2. WHAT ARE THE CUSTOMER PAIN POINT
WHAT IS THE SOLUTION ?
1. WHY IS IT INNOVATIVE
2. WHAT ARE THE RISKS
WHAT IS THE MARKET ?
1. WHO ARE THE COMPETITORS
2. WHO ARE THE CLIENTS OR USERS
WHAT IS THE STRATEGY TO ENTER THE MARKET ?
1. WHY WOULD CLIENT CHOSE YOUR SOLUTION
2. WHAT ARE THE RISKS
WHAT IS THE BUSINESS MODEL ?
1. HOW DO YOU EARN MONEY
WHO IS THE TEAM ?
1. WHAT ARE THE SKILLS
2. WHAT ARE THE MISSING SKILLS
3. HOW STRONG IS THE COMMITMENT
WHAT IS THE DEVELOPMENT PLAN ?
1. WHAT ARE THE WORK PACKAGES
2. WHAT ARE THE OUTCOME
3. WHAT ARE THE DELIVERABLES
WHAT ARE THE FINANCIAL FORECASTS?
1. COSTS AND REVENUES
2. ECONOMIC FACTORS
WHAT ARE THE FINANCIAL RESULTS ?
1. EBIDTA - IRR -PAYBACK