Fika with Camille Richard, chief impact officer at Alter Equity: 'European investors need to act'

You previously managed sustainability on the startup side rather than as an investor – what are the biggest differences in these roles?

"Working in startups, you are producing a lot. You are doing strategy, you are fixing day- to-day problems, validating data that is going to be used in marketing campaigns. Now I'm more like a premium in-house consultant for the companies we are investing in. I'm helping them improve their governance, improve parity in leadership teams or launch their decarbonation tracks. I also help them to better promote the positive impact they are producing with their companies – for instance how best to talk about impact within a brand speech."

So what is a typical Friday like for you?

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"It really depends on the time of the year. Recently we’ve been working with companies going through their 2024 reporting ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) data collection. I am also working right now on our own impact report, and with one of the companies we have in our portfolio on how they can generate carbon credits to improve their margin. I jump from one topic to another during the day, and there are no days looking alike."

Are you able to switch off?

"I do a job where there is always something to do. So I don’t have the satisfaction of saying ‘okay all our work is done, it’s the weekend’, I have to make the call that ‘okay, this is the end of my day’. Switching off is important as I work on very heavy matters: climate change, social inequalities, etc. Plus, there's the complicated context we are living in right now, politically. I try not to think too much about it during the weekend. I spend time with family and friends, I go to the movies, I do sports, gathering energy for the coming week."

You mention the unstable geopolitics affecting Europe right now. Do you predict more caution or bigger risk-taking from European investors in 2025?

"I think investors are going to be more cautious. We’ve already seen the Dow Jones dropping this week. But I think this should be a moment for European investors to gather, and invest more in impact because it's basically what we are better at than anybody else. We have a huge impact ecosystem in Europe, and a lot of ideas and innovations. We must ensure this remains our differentiation."

In 2017 President Macron said he wanted to turn France into a 'start-up nation', and France has invested a lot of public funding in tech since he’s been in power. Do you think more state funding is needed around Europe?

"In France it has had an impact because we have seen the birth of a lot of huge French unicorns during Macron’s mandate. But right now we are seeing impact investments slowing down because it’s not a priority right now. We need more public and private investing for impact solutions, and we need public authorities in Europe to create better conditions for impact investing, so it becomes more attractive for institutional investors than the traditional 'brown' [non sustainable] assets."

France’s tech scene has become a lot more international in recent years. How easy is it to have an impact career there these days, if you don’t speak the language?

"It’s not too difficult, in many companies English is now the main language. But of course, culturally it's always better to learn a bit of French."

What is your favourite fika?

"Well in France we call a mid-afternoon snack a ‘goûter’. A lot of people go to a patisserie, but I don't have that tradition right now. I like to drink mint tea with bergamot and eat some fruit to give me some energy for the rest of the day."