Fintech startup SageWealth has closed €500k in pre-seed funding. The Berlin-based team is aiming to blend digital financial advice, banking and investing with sustainability for ethical millennials.
Making sustainable and ethical financial choices is something that young generations are increasingly interested in. The impact generation of millennials and GenZ are reported to be more aware of the environmental, societal and economic impacts of their actions, and, growing up in a world that is chasing sustainability and salvation for the planet has left a lasting impact.
Millennials, equipped with consciousness and awareness of the importance of sustainable and ethical thinking, are now entering a phase of life where they have more financial power. And it’s been reported that millennials will soon be the wealthiest generation in human history as they begin to inherit and look to invest.
Getting involved in investing isn’t easy though – and millennials are also seen to be open to investing, but hesitant to actually do it. Enter SageWealth – aims to help millennials get into the investment space, and put their inheritance to use – in a way that benefits the millennial as much as society.
SageWealth: Fintech for good
Founded in Berlin in 2020, SageWealth is bringing digital financial advice & sustainable investing to ambitious and ethical millennials. The aim is to get this generation to invest in their financial future in a way that leaves positive impacts.
Founders Sana Al-Badri and Marco Vega Seeberger met at university where they both were finishing their degrees in neuroscience and psychology. As activists, a positive impact on the world was their life’s north star early on. But as researchers, measurable data mattered most to both.
They discovered that sustainable investing is 27x more impactful than changes in behaviours. In a society where we are constantly reminded of our individual power to make change for good, coupled with the knowledge that younger generations are about to take on the investment space – this opens up vast possibilities.
Taking this on board, the founders became financial advisors with the vision to change the investment world for ambitious & conscious young investors.
“Basically financial advisory has not changed since the 70s. Our generation distrusts banks because they simply don’t understand our values and needs” , said Sana Al-Badri, Founder of SageWealth.
Growth and funding
The Berlin-based startup has now announced a raise of €500k to build out its digital platform. They’ve done so with a diverse cap table with 40% of Angels being female. Influential investors, such as Dr. Marta Ra, founder of Women in Sustainable Finance, and Marie Louise Seelig, founder of CrossLend, have joined. Backers include Till, founder of Nebenan.de, Hans, founder of Clue, and Aleks, founder of Penta.
It comes after reporting 20% month-on-month growth after launch last year with €1 million in assets under control.
Until this funding, the startup was bootstrapped and had no marketing budget – so it’s clear to see they are onto something. The funding will be used to build further financial life planning tools and offer investments with the strongest sustainability criteria for ETFs.
In order to scale, they have now hired industry veterans, including ex-Trade Republic, ex-Getquin, ex-Join Capital and ex-Northvolt.
