Montreal-based Impak Finance has received $1.1 million from angel investors for its social impact platform.
Participants in the angel round include Anges Québec, Anges Québec Capital, and private investors from Canada and France. Claude Chagnon from the Fondation Chagnon, Didier Kuhn from the French ride sharing app BlablaCar, Michel Lozeau, a former National Bank of Canada executive, and former Quebec cabinet minister Daniel Paillé have joined its board.
In August 2017, the company launched a fully-compliant ICO—which it called a first for Canada— to fund Impak Coin, a cryptocurrency used within the ecosystem. When users make purchases from businesses within the ecosystem, they are rewarded with Impak Coin. Its app also allows everyday consumers to find businesses with a positive social and environmental impact.
“The support we are getting from well known entrepreneurs and investors is a demonstration of the enthusiasm behind our project: to channel capital towards enterprises that take to heart the welfare of people and the environment,” said Paul Allard, co-founder and CEO of impak Finance. “Business as a force for good, an alternative to the traditional way of doing business, has increasingly been gaining ground worldwide.”