Topl Spotlight #24: Redefining Impact Investing With erable°’s Vincent Katchavenda

Topl Spotlight showcases innovators and changemakers who are reimagining economic systems through web3 technologies. Today, we’re excited to highlight Vincent Katchavenda, the Co-Founder and COO at erable°, an investment platform for financing the ecological transition, accessible to all. Vincent is on a mission to explore how technology, art, and science can enable humanity to confront social and environmental crises.

Can you introduce yourself and talk about your experience in web3?

Hi, I’m Vincent! My introduction to web3 started in 2016 when a friend — now an influential figure in the space — introduced me to Bitcoin. He was excited about its financial potential, especially as a store of value. But I’ve always had this rule: Don’t invest in something you don’t understand. So, I took the time to read the Bitcoin whitepaper. This led me to Ethereum and the realization that web3 could become the enabler of collective progress.

It was smart contracts that intrigued me. I saw that we could now do things without intermediaries, which could simplify lives for people everywhere. By 2017, while freelancing in web design and marketing for startups, I began exploring how blockchain might address systemic issues: inequality, poverty, and climate change. Everything around rebuilding trust and community empowerment, accountability on a global scale, and equitable redistribution of value — these were topics I thought about every day, and suddenly, I had a technology that seemed aligned.

In 2018, my focus shifted to consulting, mostly in B2B and with a focus on supply chains. I worked with some big players, introducing them to how they could integrate blockchain. Now that I look back, maybe it was a little early for that, haha! Then, in 2019, I joined a small consulting company. From just 5 of us, we grew to 45 after the 2021 bull run. We worked on numerous projects, many in France, concentrating on EVM chains and Tezos, along with strategy and tokenomics consulting. This is how I started as a builder — not just a lurker.

But just consulting wasn’t enough for me. I saw a lot of movement but not enough direction in using the technology to truly better the world. That’s why we launched erable°. This was a chance to contribute to building impactful solutions. While I’m still a partner at the consulting firm, my main focus is now on erable°. I’m also involved with the International Blockchain Association (INATBA), Paris Blockchain Society, and ReFi France (an initiative we launched with ReFi DAO and Blockchain4Good), aiming to support our local community. Additionally, I’m participating in a convention that discusses climate and its financial aspects. It’s not directly about web3, but I want to build that bridge, especially because it’s such a good fit for regenerative finance!

How did you become interested in the intersection of blockchain and impact?

It was actually the smart contracts that first opened my eyes to the possibilities. When diving into supply chain applications, I worked on food safety use cases. Specifically, we were exploring how to use blockchain to ensure the safety of frozen food. This made me see how blockchain could change how we track and think about value flows, intertwining money and data and pinpointing accountability at every stage.

From there, my interest expanded to DAOs (Decentralized Autonomous Organizations). What fascinated me was the idea that people could come together to form a new entity not bound by traditional legal frameworks or specific jurisdictions. This has the potential to reshape our understanding of value, money, and how we coordinate at societal levels. So, it was really smart contracts, supply chains, and DAOs that did it for me. :)

How do you think blockchain is helping to shape traditional economic systems?

For a long time, many have been envisioning new economic systems. Now, with blockchain, we finally have the tools and foundation to test these visions in the real world. We’re at a point where we can redefine concepts like governance or value and even introduce interactions we never thought possible. This technology is giving life to ideas and dreams people have had for centuries, allowing us to see their practical implications. It’s remarkable.

Another interesting dimension is the perception of blockchain. When I talk with big corporates, blockchain sparks a fresh perspective. While they might have approached challenges traditionally in a centralized way, blockchain prompts a thought: “Hey, maybe we could finally approach this differently!” Yet, sometimes, it’s not so much about the technology itself, but about the new ways of thinking it encourages. It’s almost as if blockchain is nudging them to break free from established mental barriers, driving innovation. The door is now open for us to test and experiment, which can be good and bad.

How can we ensure there’s less of the bad?

The truth is, we can’t entirely. There will always be individuals who pursue negative actions. What we can control, however, is our collective response. Can we, as a community, censor such behaviors? Can we choose not to support or use platforms that enable them? Can we vocalize our condemnation? Ultimately, fostering an environment where people have access to their needs and promoting collaboration over competition might be the key to creating a society where we can thrive.

Can you tell us more about what you’re working on?

erable° kicked off in 2021. Initially, we focused on mobilizing digital assets and blockchain to channel funding into real-impact projects, particularly in the climate sector. We aimed to make the funding process transparent and enable direct investments into projects taking our planetary boundaries into account, addressing issues like greenwashing and the various misconceptions surrounding impact investing.

Our journey began with an ICO, through which we raised initial funding. We then sifted through 250 projects, narrowed it down to 10 via community voting, and finally selected two. These projects helped shape our product. Before this, we were sure about our goal — to fund impactful initiatives — but the specifics, the assets, utilities, etc., were still ambiguous. The two selected projects, one focusing on reusable containers for the fast food industry and the other on repairing electric vehicles — a surprisingly rare service — guided our path.

We went for a revenue-sharing model, where purchasing an NFT equates to owning a treasury share. This treasury is then invested in assets, like reusable containers or repaired vehicles, and investors receive a portion of the revenue and impact generated. We focus on the asset, not the company, facilitating precise impact tracking.

Fast forward to today, we’ve launched a platform — an NFT marketplace with associated treasuries incorporating the logic I’ve outlined. We’re actively running another project centered on renting washing machines and one on electric motors for boats. Over 20 other leads are on the horizon, each adhering to our revenue-sharing model, bridging the gap between projects in need of funding and retail investors.

Our current focus is broadening our investor base. While our existing investors are driven by their passion for the causes our projects champion, we aim to transform erable° into a go-to for financial products that respect planetary boundaries. To achieve this, attracting substantial investments from business angels, funds, and decentralized finance (DeFi) investors is crucial. Given that regenerative finance (ReFi) or blockchain-for-good projects often face challenges drawing in DeFi investors, we’re developing strategies to overcome this hurdle. By tokenizing real-world assets and adopting a more indexed approach to investments, we aim to minimize risks for investors while offering both yields and impact. We’re anticipating rolling out the first version of this in the coming months.

So, what can we do collectively to support these impactful projects more?

Everyone should be able to engage with a project and be rewarded for their involvement. What’s striking about blockchain is its global nature, but its true power lies in facilitating local impact. The logical first investors are those who use and benefit from these projects daily. By becoming ambassadors and encouraging others to join, they can create a positive feedback loop. Embracing projects on a local level while leveraging the broader global infrastructure is key. This approach simplifies onboarding; it’s easier to engage those in your immediate community, which naturally leads to education and lowering tech barriers.

Our current vocabulary in the blockchain world is, admittedly, complex. But it’s essential to distill it down for broader understanding. Using the term “NFT” might be off-putting to some; they might think of it as a scam. Rather than relying on jargon, we should communicate the tangible benefits of the technology and its solutions. If we focus on a grassroots, local approach, we can achieve meaningful impact. We don’t always need to reinvent the wheel; sometimes, it’s about replicating successful models in new locations and nurturing local communities to champion them. This local-centric approach encourages individuals to invest, provide feedback, attract more participants, and get rewarded for their efforts.

What are some trends in the web3 space that have gotten your attention lately?

One area I’ve been particularly drawn to recently is Decentralized Science (DeSci). The concept of shared IP is intriguing. Imagine being able to financially support an innovative idea in its infancy and then, if that idea is successful, be entitled to a portion of its future revenues. Substantial funding is critical in sectors like climate and disruptive tech, even if outcomes are uncertain. The thought of backing, say, medical research and later benefiting from its potential breakthroughs over the next decade or two is fantastic.

Another trend I’ve been exploring is oracles — how we introduce data into the blockchain and design systems that facilitate this input seamlessly. Equally important is the verification of those inputting the data. This is related to the Internet of Things (IoT), aiming to make the integration process as smooth as possible. At erable°, we gather impact-related data from our project databases. However, it’s a two-step process: the projects provide the data, and we then anchor it on the blockchain and display it on our dashboard. The challenge is ensuring the authenticity and reliability of this data. As we expand to potentially handle data for thousands of projects, addressing the Oracle problem will become more and more relevant.

Curious to learn more about Vincent? Follow him on Twitter or find him on LinkedIn. And to explore similar content and stay up to date with Topl, make sure to join our Discord.