ROTTERDAM, April 9, 2024 - Quit your well-paid Zuidas job and go solve world problems! Rutger Bregman's call for moral ambition is wasted on Nick and Tamar van Heesewijk (cousins). They already traded in their good jobs a few years ago for their green investment platform Corekees, making the world a little greener. The platform is a success. To fulfill even more of its big and green ambitions, Corekees is now issuing shares.
Showing moral ambition can be easy.
Photo: Corekees - founders, Nick and Tamar van Heesewijk
Bregman writes on LinkedIn that we should "strive for a world in which the greatest talents work on the most important problems, rather than being swallowed up by (...) banking, corporate advocacy and big consulting firms.
Nick and Tamar are textbook examples of young smart people using their abilities to make the world a better place. But you can have so many plans; without sufficient financial arm strength, it becomes difficult. To make a difference on an even larger scale, the duo believes more growth capital is needed. That's why they are raising money through an equity round, which will be used to further grow Corekees through more-and bigger-projects.
Proven merits: Impact and return
New co-owners of Corekees not only become part of a movement to make the world a better place: it is also expected to be a good investment. The platform grew an average of 200 percent annually over the past 2 years: its estimated value rose from 1 to 5 million euros in three years. Corekees' green projects are also commercially very successful.
So showing moral ambition can be very simple: not everyone has to start a green start-up or work for a charity. 'You can make a lot of money in the financial sector AND have a positive impact as a co-owner of a highly profitable green investment platform,' Nick explains. Before starting Corekees, he himself held marketing positions at large commercial companies. 'Not everyone has to take the step I did; by investing morally you give those who did quit their jobs a helping hand.'
Transparent; tangible; against greenwashing
Investing in green funds and investment platforms is often murky: you don't know exactly where the money is going. Moreover, media reports and research from ASN Bank that such parties often invest in the fossil industry anyway.
Corekees makes investors the promise of the three T's: the platform is transparent, the investments are tangible, and Corekees is committed to anti-greenwashing. For example, you buy one bamboo tree for a reforestation project in Portugal, with Corekees committing to strict oversight and transparent reporting to investors.
Investors can become shareholders from 2,500 euros through crowdfunding platform until next Friday,April 12. Seedblink. In the next round of investment (expected in 2-3 years), shares can be resold. Over 200,000 euros have been raised so far.
Corekees investor Erik van Berkel: 'It is an inspiring company with concrete, understandable and green projects. Thanks to the growth and development Corekees has shown in recent years, I invest in this scale-up with great confidence.'
