givvable: know your impact

Frances is co-founder of givvable, a data-driven technology platform that helps companies find, source and track the impact of sustainable, circular and social spending. 

Frances has over 15 years corporate, financial services and legal experience at top-tier global firms. She currently sits on the board of two non-profit organisations servicing women and children experiencing homelessness and/or domestic violence. She also sits on the University of NSW Business School Alumni Advisory Board.

Frances has previously co-founded two impact-driven technology projects, a personalised picture book supporting children's literacy programs, and a charitable crowdfunding site designed to reduce waste of unwanted gifts. Most importantly, Frances is a mother to 3 gorgeous kids aged 2, 4 and 5.

Frances holds a Commerce/Law degree from the University of NSW, a Masters in Law from the University of Sydney and an executive MBA from the Australian Graduate School of Management. 

In response to increasing stakeholder and regulatory pressures, companies are setting sustainability and social inclusion targets, such as carbon neutral, resource efficiency, zero waste, recycled content, indigenous & social procurement, health & well-being and local community support. The supply chain plays a critical role. 

The problem is there is no easy way to search the full range of sustainable suppliers, and impact is rarely tracked.

givvable is a data-driven technology solution that helps companies find and track the impact of sustainable, circular and social spending. It does this by mapping the environmental and social credentials of suppliers to the UN SDGs and ESG indicators making it easier for companies to report on sustainability. 

Our mission is to help sustainable and social businesses grow and scale to reduce humanity's environmental and social impact and create the future sustainable employers for our children. 

Companies have mandatory and voluntary sustainability targets and reporting requirements to meet. These include disclosures on carbon emissions, waste management, recycled content, water & energy efficiency, modern slavery, social procurement, and diversity & inclusion. They are also subject to increasing stakeholder pressure to procure with more environmental and social impact.

The problem is there is no easy way for companies to find and source sustainable and social suppliers, such as Carbon Neutral, Fairtrade, B Corp, Disability, Women-led, Indigenous and other social enterprises, that align with their sustainability objectives. And the impact of this spending is rarely captured for reporting purposes.  

givvable is a data-driven technology platform that helps companies find, source and track the impact of sustainable and social spending. 

It maps the environmental and social credentials of suppliers to the UN SDGs and ESG indicators using proprietary algorithms so companies know they are spending in a way that advances their sustainability. 

Companies can search supplier profiles, create shortlists, submit EOIs, request RFPs, and message or collaborate with suppliers directly. Companies receive smart recommendations to divert more of their spending to sustainable and social alternatives, and can track their spending against organisational or project goals or targets via simple dashboard reporting.

givvable has created a simple on-boarding process for suppliers, who can also complete additional modules, such as on modern slavery or the circular economy, designed to ease the due diligence burden on suppliers and reduce the barriers to purchase. 

Our suppliers are typically micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. They have a core environmental or social mission demonstrated through their organisational or product credentials such as certifications, standards, membership, initiatives and outcomes. 

They are a diverse group of enterprises serving different needs in the community - from redirecting waste from landfill, to helping ex-offenders gain employment, to donating to non-profits supporting victims of domestic violence to social businesses employing refugees and so on.

We support these businesses by increasing their visibility to corporate buyers who can help them grow and scale through higher value and recurring revenue streams, as well as raise their profile among employees and the community creating positive reinforcing loops for the business.

Covid-19 has revealed the fragility of global supply chains. Post the pandemic, CFOs of large global organisations have indicated their intention to diversify and localise aspects of their supply chain as a contingency. This creates an immediate opportunity for sustainable and social suppliers to in-fill gaps and embed themselves in the corporate supply chain. 

givvable profiles the unique value proposition of sustainable and social suppliers, i.e. their impact, to companies looking to make an impact. 

The platform highlights the environmental or social issue the supplier is looking to solve, and demonstrates to the corporate buyer how the supplier solves it. 

By doing so, we build awareness of the issue among high profile corporate buyers who have the financial capacity to address the issue by directing their spending towards that supplier. 

Where previously companies supported causes through charitable giving or volunteering, givvable shows how they can achieve some of these same objectives through procurement.

As a side project while on maternity leave, Frances and her co-founder Naomi, created a fun online platform to curb the unintended waste generated from gift giving (having witnessed it at their own and other kids’ birthday parties). 

This project was selected by a University accelerator program and while they loved the concept, it was not something they wished to pursue full-time as a start-up. 

Instead, and unconventionally for an accelerator, they decided to re-imagine their sustainability concept for their start-up conducting 80 interviews during the 10 week program. It was during this extensive problem validation exercise that they discovered the problems faced by companies around sustainable and social procurement.

Increasingly Frances and Naomi realised that by re-framing sustainable and social procurement as a competitive advantage to achieve ESG status - and not as incremental cost - givvable could help align procurement with c-suite objectives.

The pivot in my career occurred when I became a mother.

At that point, my focus shifted to my children's future - what would the world be like for them and their children when they are my age? They are too young to make decisions that inform that now, but we can.

givvable is an opportunity to influence the type of future employers that exist for my own and other people’s children. My hope is that, through givvable, we can help micro, small and medium sustainable and social businesses become large, highly successful organisations that drive the economy of the future - one that is not obsessed with year-on-year revenue or profit growth, but rather environmentally and socially sustainable growth.

I hope to leave a legacy for my children – and they see just how hard we worked to leave a more sustainable and safer planet for them.

givvable is led by co-founders Frances (CEO) and Naomi (CFO, COO).

Frances sits on two not-for-profit boards and the UNSW Business School Alumni Advisory Board. At J.P.Morgan, she was a team leader for an investment banking industry coverage group in Sydney. Naomi is a qualified CPA, former Australian diplomat and finance manager, with experience across Asia, Europe, and Australia.

Aaron (CTO) heads development with 20+ years experience at Telstra, UTS and QLD Government in software production and development. He is supported by our full-stack developer, Divesh, and UX/UI designer, Josh.

Myrna is our sustainability reporting specialist, and former impact management and measurement specialist at the World Bank for 11 years. Joaquin manages givvable’s digital marketing and growth strategy.

givvable is mentored by specialists in procurement (Mirvac), sustainability (IKEA), entrepreneurship (UNSW) and technology (AWS, Identitii). We have strong relationships with certifiers, industry bodies and international organisations, such as The World Bank, The Impact Management Project, WeConnect International, The Supply Chain Sustainability School, Social Change Central, Moral Fairground and Boomerang Labs, who form a key part of our distribution network to suppliers and corporates.

Our advisory board comprises sustainability leaders, ESG analysts, World Bank consultants, social innovators and commercially-minded technologists.

Early on in our start-up journey, particularly as we were seeking to validate the problem, we came across people who were resistant to change or who do not believe for one reason or another that we were the right people to solve their problem.

In more than one meeting, we came across people who did not believe in our mission, did not believe in the business model, did not believe in the problem or solution, or simply believed it could not work.

In one meeting, we were told outright that ‘companies do not care about sustainability, you are barking up the wrong tree’. Another said, as part of the selection process for a program, ‘I didn’t vote for your start-up, the only reason you got in is because one person on the panel vouched for you quite strongly’.

As it turns out, we only needed that one person to believe in us to get to the next step. Once there, we build on what we have achieved. We believe that persistence will be what makes us successful over the long-run.

When COVID struck, and the world went into lockdown, Naomi and I sat down and seriously considered what this all meant for givvable. Now in survival mode, would companies continue to care about sustainability? How long would COVID set the sustainability agenda back? As a start-up, could we survive a prolonged period of in-action ourselves? 

But instead of slowing progress, we decided to accelerate it. We so passionately believed that sustainability was a critical issue for companies, and as global supply chains fell short and many were urgently looking to diversify and localise supplier networks as a contingency, the lack of investment in technology over the preceding years was laid bare as companies struggled to manage existing supplier relationships and quickly create new ones. Now, 4 months on – we have 3 new corporate partners, over 4,000 suppliers in our database and development cycle that will see us grow stronger as we transition from pilots to beta launch during one of the most difficult economic periods of our lifetime.

This was a critical decision point for givvable. One that did not come without considerable risk, particularly with a growing team looking for strong leadership and reassuring passion and conviction.

givvable has developed proprietary algorithms that map the credentials of suppliers (such as certifications, standards, memberships, outcomes and initiatives) to regularly used sustainability reporting frameworks such as Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) indicators and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as well as other criteria designed to enhance the user experience.

This helps companies quickly and easily assess the sustainability of suppliers and know whether they are spending in a way that advances their sustainability objectives. 

givvable brings together supply chains, ESG and technology in an easily accessible platform enabling sustainable and social spending at scale.

In givvable, we believe accessible, up-to-date, reliable data can activate the power of corporate procurement to generate positive social and sustainable impacts.

Today, we see a need among corporates to access practical data to navigate the maze of information around social and sustainable impacts in their procurement decisions and supply chain management. Among suppliers, we see the need for a channel that connects them with corporate clients showcasing their social and sustainability credentials to respond to corporate requirements and priorities. Therefore, givvable uses technology to reference sustainability frameworks and international practice to digitally pre-screen suppliers against their social and sustainability attributes and intended impacts. As a result, the givvable platform connects corporates with suppliers along carefully curated sustainable and social data of relevance to both.

For corporate clients, givvable applies its proprietary algorithm to the pool of current social and sustainable suppliers, and potential suppliers who come to the platform via our supplier registration process. Our platform allows the aggregation of individual supplier profiles into corporate reports that help track social and sustainable spending against stated priorities, categories, and targets. A supplier profile is generated by self-reported and third-party validated data, so that their social sustainability credentials are validated prior to connecting them to procurement teams in our network of corporate clients. Through a combination of sustainability and impact data, and human, relatable stories, we help suppliers in our platform to better articulate the social value and sustainability attributes of their products and services to potential corporate clients. Up-to-date, actionable tracking of social and sustainable corporate spending, an aggregate database of digitally pre-screened social and sustainable suppliers, and better knowledge of the social value connected to these transactions to create positive synergies in the ecosystem and eventually drive positive local sustainability impacts and increase diversity and equity in the corporate supplier market. givvable Theory of Change image

givvable serves the following groups:

-       Employees of suppliers registered on the platform

-       Customers and other stakeholders of suppliers

-       Any communities directly impacted from spending with suppliers. For example, social enterprises support disadvantaged communities in a number of ways, including training an employment, pro-bono goods and services, program sponsorship and cash donations.

Social suppliers, in particular, are typically more diverse and inclusive and employ more people from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Currently we have over 4,000 suppliers in our database (July 2020). The majority of suppliers are micro, small and medium sized enterprises (MSMEs). An average MSME size of 15 employees, implies 3,000 employees are currently served by givvable.

givvable has already demonstrated is scalability and network effects, with suppliers from the US, Canada, UK and Asia on-boarding to the platform in the absence of any marketing. Corporate users also refer existing suppliers to the platform, which enables givvable to grow its pool of suppliers very quickly.

Given this, we expect the number of suppliers to multiply by up to 10-20 times within 5 years. We also anticipate attracting larger suppliers with more employees. Based on these assumptions, we estimate 60,000 employees will be served by givvable in year 1, and over 1 million employees by year 5. These figures do not include any disadvantaged communities directly supported by corporate spending with suppliers.

1.     To encourage more sustainable and social spending by the private sector. Currently, social procurement targets are, at best, 3-5% of total spend. The percentage of total sustainable spending must dramatically increase in order to achieve the UN SDGs. By helping companies measure the impact of their spending, our goal is to divert their spending to more sustainable and social sources over time.

2.     By connecting sustainable and social suppliers to large corporate buyers, our goal is to help them grow and scale to become the future big employers for our children.

The two key barriers to accomplishing our goals are: (1) funding to develop the platform for beta launch to attract customers on a full subscription basis; and (2) developing relationships with pilot customers and other partners to inform the development cycle for a successful beta launch. 

The scalability of givvable’s business model means it is possible for givvable to become cash flow positive within the first 12 months of operation. Our goal is to prioritise the development of platform functionality and features based on insights via pilots with prospective customers to yield the greatest return on investment.

We are actively applying for grants and corporate-sponsored programs which offer the potential funding or the opportunity for us to working closely with corporate partners during pilots to inform the development cycle.

To date, this has been a successful path for givvable having secured a pilot with Mirvac Group through the Impact Accelerator and Optus through Optus Future Makers. More recently, we have been accepted into Microsoft for Sustainability’s Program (Asia), we are 1 of 9 finalists in X15 Ventures + Commonwealth Bank’s Xccelerate (Australia) and shortlisted for Singtel’s Circular Economy program (Asia).

We now have a deep network of advisors and mentors, including ESG analysts, sustainability leaders and procurement specialists, who actively introduce us to prospective customers and partners. We also leverage our close relationships with the University of New South Wales and Singapore Management University to access large corporates and grow our pool of suppliers through a range of different distribution channels which include certifies, industry bodies, accelerators and government organisations.

We have strong relationships with The Mirvac Group (ASX-listed real-estate developer), the University of New South Wales (UNSW) and Optus (Australian telecommunications provider) who are our first three pilot customers.

We have also developed partnerships with leading global organisations in the field of sustainability, environmental and social impact, circularity, diversity and inclusion, and impact reporting. These include the Centre for Social Impact, The Impact Measurement Project (IMP), The World Bank, Supply Chain Sustainability School, Boomerang Labs, WeConnect International, and Supply Chain Central. We work with these organisations to test and validate our proprietary impact measurement algorithm, as well as distribution partners to reach out to: (a) suppliers that are eligible to be profiles on givvable; and (b) corporate customers.

givvable’s business model is a corporate subscription fee, charged monthly, to access the platform of pre-qualified suppliers (currently 4,000+ as at July 2020), and track the impact of their spend via simple dashboard reporting.

Currently we are testing 3 subscription options: A$6k/yr for a limited number of users and functionality, A$10k/yr for team access and A$24k/yr for global, enterprise-wide access, both with full functionality. This is competitively priced against existing competitors, many of whom charge between A$8-$18k to access a single category of supplier (e.g. women-led). Often this access is further limited to a single country or region.

givvable’s business model is sustainable because of its stickiness. It is a platform that corporate subscribers can use for existing and new suppliers. givvable also makes smart recommendations based on a user’s searching or spending behaviour and sustainability targets. This keeps them inside the platform and engaged with their network of suppliers.

givvable is globally scalable. Even at this stage of development, givvable has attracted registrations from suppliers in the US, UK, Canada and Singapore without any targeted marketing. Our corporate partners intend using givvable for their global operations where it is even more difficult to find sustainable and social suppliers. givvable’s impact algorithm is based on globally recognised reporting frameworks and once established for a supplier credential, can be applied irrespective of location.

givvable has embedded network effects and positive reinforcing loops. Already corporates are introducing existing suppliers to the platform, sustainability consultants are recommending their clients to the platform, and registered suppliers have referred other suppliers. Our objective is to optimise these networks and loops by incentivising corporate and supplier users to make referrals to givvable.

We have received AUD$20,000 under a SAFE agreement with UNSW, and we have entered into a SAFE option agreement with Mirvac Ventures and Artesian Investments.

Currently 3 early corporate partners have committed to undertake a paid pilot or test givvable to help inform development and we are in active discussions with a further 5. A further 27 customers are waitlisted for early access to givvable that we plan to onboard in 2021 after further testing. Our objective in this pilot/trial phase is to achieve early corporate buy-in and bring these companies on as full-fee paying customers from Q121.

Revenue projects are based on our early corporate partners converting to full fee-paying customers in 2021. Of the 27 waitlisted corporate customers, we conservatively estimate a 40% conversion rate to full-fee paying customers in 2021.

These customers are based in Australia. After the first full year of operation, we plan to expand to Singapore and the US. Given varied corporate sales cycles, we expect a staggered approach to on-boarding 16 early adopters (5 key partners + 11 waitlisted customers) from Q121. We assume an average fee of A$12k per customer/yr, and on-boarding of two customers per month from Jan to Aug 2021.

The full year revenue run rate of our early adopters is projected at A$192k. Once we have cleared the testing and launch phase, we will dedicate more resources to sales and marketing. We expect these activities to raise givvable’s profile, attract new trials and conversions to full fee-paying customers. 

We are not looking to raise funds right now, however we are preparing for the option to seek funding in 6-12 months’ time to support our growth.

We have purposely built the givvable prototype and MVP lean to enable us to quickly adapt to customer testing and feedback. The majority of our staff are equity partners or volunteers and do not receive salary, and our major expense to date has been for tech development. To date we have done minimal paid marketing campaigns, but this is something we would like to drive harder in H22020 in order to raise our awareness and profile among suppliers and corporate customers.

We estimate our full year costs for tech development and marketing to beta launch at AUD$60,000.

We are looking to increase givvable’s profile among the change-making global community. Already, at this early stage, the platform has demonstrated its scalability and network effects. We’d like to attract progressive and innovative organisations to pilot with us to develop a best-in-class, global solution that powers more sustainable and social spending by companies and organisations everywhere. We believe the Elevate Prize is an excellent platform to do this given your supportive community and vast global reach and extensive network.

We will consider fundraising in the next 6-12 months and would like support in preparing and guiding us through this process.

Quality and sustainability-committed suppliers on the platform is a key component to givvable’s success and we are always looking for ways to connect with them. Equally we are constantly searching for forward-thinking, sustainability-minded corporates to pilot givvable, and join as customers. Marketing, media and exposure is one of the best ways to achieve this, so we are seeking partners to not only support us in these activities, but also to be champions of givvable in their own right.

We would like to partner with organisations leading the way in sustainability – high profile examples include Ben and Jerry’s, Unilever, Microsoft and IKEA. Ideally companies that have issued a sustainability report (at minimum) in the past 2 years and has made public commitments on targets around environment or social impact, and/or circularity.

The reasons for partnering with these types of organisations include:

(1)   Provide a unique opportunity to gain deeper insights from best-in-class companies, that will inform the development cycle to achieve the greatest return on investment

(2)   Discover other practical use cases of givvable;

(3)   They are our target early adopters of givvable; and

(4)   To grow our pool of sustainable and social suppliers, as well as their network of like-minded companies also looking to source sustainable.