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Proof of Impact closes investment round led by Franklin Templeton 

Proof of Impact (POI) has  closed its first institutional investment round led by Franklin Templeton. Proof of Impact is building a global marketplace on the blockchain where one can donate or invest directly into measurable impact outcomes.

In connection with the investment, a representative of Franklin Templeton will serve on the Proof of Impact board, offering their expertise in the application of blockchain technology and impact investing as well as scaling the POI offering globally. Proof of Impact’s co-founder Fleur Heyns will be pitching the company during the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos in January 2020.

In addition to Franklin Templeton, the following leading venture capital firms have joined in this investment round: Ausum Ventures (San Francisco, USA) a fund dedicated to blockchain projects with social impact at their core, Crypto Valley Venture Capital (CV VC) (Zug, Switzerland) the leading early-stage blockchain start-up fund  in Crypto Valley and Pangea Blockchain fund (Switzerland). The investment follows a growth trajectory that has seen Proof of Impact establish milestone projects addressing several Strategic Development Goals (SDGs) across the globe. The POI marketplace will launch in The Netherlands in Q1 2020.

“From the outset, we were adamant for Proof of Impact to attract commercial capital that can add long-term strategic value at the “technology – impact – finance” intersection we would like to dominate,” says Proof of Impact co-founder Fleur Heyns from The Netherlands. “We are extremely pleased that a global financial institution with extensive emerging market investment product experience and distribution capacity is committed to build the next generation impact investment market with us.”

This first investment round allows Proof of Impact to continue its fast growth and execute its ambitious goal of securitising proven impact and bringing proven impact investment products to global capital markets. 

“As a firm, Franklin Templeton has committed significant capital to blockchain technology as we believe it offers a very effective future infrastructure for fund management. Furthermore, our client base is increasingly demanding impact returns in addition to the financial returns conventional portfolios offer. It therefore made sense to invest in Proof of Impact for its ability to generate impact content in digital form. Proof of Impact has created an entirely new paradigm for social impact investment and management,” says Roger Bayston, Executive Vice President, Director of Quantitative & FinTech Strategies, Franklin Templeton Fixed Income Group.

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