Tech for Good Startup HACE has raised £450,000 in a pre-seed funding round, exceeding its original target by 20%.
The Manchester-based company is on a mission to use technology to sustainably eliminate child labor from global supply chains.
The funding round, led by Manchester Angels, includes co-investments from GC Angels, Ada Ventures, Found Capital and individual angel investors.
HACE will use this funding to complete the construction of its flagship product, the Child Labor Index. This enables asset managers, asset managers and institutional investors to proactively identify child labor risks in their portfolio companies and effectively engage with these companies through a stewardship toolkit. To foster positive change.
Our specialized AI-powered ESG assessment generates three different risk scores for companies and portfolios in the child labor specific sector.
As part of the index’s ongoing development, the funding will be used to continue the proof-of-concept feedback and pilot phase with a select group of asset managers and asset managers with strong sustainable investment credentials. will be done.
Additionally, this funding will enable HACE to advance its stewardship toolkit, which is being built and validated by expert academics and practitioners. This toolkit is designed to support engagement with investors and portfolio companies on the specific risks of child labor.
HACE will also invest in the growth of an independent business advisory board to conduct continued research on the distinct issue of child labor as a business and investment risk.
Is the issue of child labor taken seriously?
Eleanor Harry, CEO of HACE: Changing Data Child Labor, said::”Surpassing the funding round in the current economic climate is a monumental achievement for HACE, as there is growing awareness of the scale of the child labor problem and the role technology can play in its sustainable eradication. This is proof that there is.
“We would like to thank everyone who has supported or contributed to the funding and success of HACE more broadly, including all of our investors, KPMG Acceleris and KPMG Law.
“We would like to express our deep gratitude to the wider Manchester ecosystem, which has played a monumental role in supporting HACE as we build and grow our business. We are on a mission to create visible change, but this cannot happen without the cooperation of everyone involved.”
To supplement the funding raised, HACE has established a co-development and technology partnership with software provider Equal Experts.
The company also announced a new board of directors, chaired by Eric Solomons, former office managing partner of RSM, an audit, tax and consulting firm.
Paul Inella, CEO of Washington-based Tetrid Digital Integrity, and John Freeman, senior director at Johnson & Johnson, were also appointed to the board.
HACE has four and a half full-time employees and has appointed Chris Turpin as its business partner. Leveraging his 27 years of experience in the financial services industry, he will spearhead efforts to foster greater engagement between investors and companies to eliminate child labor from corporate supply chains.
Founded in 2020, HACE has so far received grants worth £55,000 through the Greater Manchester AI Foundry and the University of Cambridge. The business made money from its initial services and then focused on developing child labor indices.
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With 160 million children engaged in child labor around the world, HACE is leveraging the power of data and technology to address the growing and emerging concerns of both human rights and ESG more broadly. We support the eradication of independent risks.