The Ground_Up Project
Geneva-based fintech platform that aggregates and pre-qualifies SDG-aligned SMEs in developing countries seeking investments under $20M, connecting them with impact investors via a data platform, free Investment Clinic content, and UN-incubated Pipeline Builder methodology.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2014
- HeadquartersGeneva, Switzerland
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What The Ground_Up Project does
The Ground_Up Project (legally Ground Up Project SA) is a Geneva-based fintech platform founded in 2014 that connects impact investors with SMEs in developing countries seeking investments under US $20 million that align with national Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) roadmaps. Its flagship offering is a web-based data aggregation platform where entrepreneurs submit venture information — including financials, customer data, product/service details, and impact metrics — and investors analyze opportunities. The offering is supplemented by The Investment Clinic, a free educational archive of investor podcasts (10 episodes) and video lectures, and the Pipeline Builder Project, a methodology incubated within the SDG Lab at the United Nations in Geneva that inventories high-performing SMEs aligned to national SDG priorities. The Pipeline Builder pilot was first developed in Ghana and extended to Kenya via a 70-participant workshop at Building Bridges Week 2022.
The core technology is a web platform built on Wix.com infrastructure with Cloudflare content delivery, Google Analytics for traffic analysis, and a separate WordPress-backed domain for The Investment Clinic. No public-facing API is exposed. The go-to-market is community-led: the company leverages network partners — Accelerate 2030, ITC SheTrades, WIPO Green, and GreenCape — to source entrepreneurs, while the SDG Lab at UN Geneva and Building Bridges serve as convening partners for events and roundtables. Distribution is also reinforced by a media presence across LinkedIn, Twitter, podcasts on SoundCloud, video on YouTube, and earned coverage in Forbes, Geneva Solutions, Building Bridges, and Environmental Finance.
The business model combines free services (The Investment Clinic) with paid, annually-billed platform subscriptions and licensed data packages sold to governments, economic development agencies, and financial institutions. Pricing is not publicly disclosed. The company is privately held, founder-controlled (Brindusa Burrows, ex-World Economic Forum), operates with a 1–10 person team in Geneva, and has no disclosed funding rounds or institutional investors in the available data.
The Ground_Up Project firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- The Ground_Up Project
- Legal name
- Ground Up Project SA
- Website
- https://groundupproject.net
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2014
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Geneva-based fintech platform that aggregates and pre-qualifies SDG-aligned SMEs in developing countries seeking investments under $20M, connecting them with impact investors via a data platform, free Investment Clinic content, and UN-incubated Pipeline Builder methodology.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
The Ground_Up Project industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Impact Investment Platform
- NAICS
- Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (518210)
- SIC
- Investment Advice (6282), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370), Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- SDG / Thematic Sustainable Investment Funds (FSANAJAN)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Impact / ESG Multi-Manager Platforms (FSANAGAJ)
Keywords
Where The Ground_Up Project is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Geneva
- HQ country
- Switzerland
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
The Ground_Up Project business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Platform Services (Fee-based): The Terms of Service state that some services are provided free of charge while others are provided for a fee. Users must pay for all User licenses ordered for the entire year, whether actively used or not. Payments are made annually in advance unless otherwise agreed in writing.
- Data Licensing: Aggregated data about early stage private equity and SDG investing is packaged and licensed to third parties including governments, economic development agencies, and financial institutions. Examples include data about deals at various funding stages and industry/geography metrics.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Others | Free services (The Investment Clinic) |
| Subscription | Annual | Paid platform services |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
The Ground_Up Project product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Ground_Up Project operates a web-based data aggregation platform that sources, inventories, and benchmarks SDG-aligned small and medium-sized enterprises in developing countries that are seeking investments under US$20 million. The platform enables impact investors and entrepreneurs to submit, exchange, and analyze information about impact ventures. It is supplemented by The Investment Clinic, a free educational archive of investor insights, and the Pipeline Builder Project, a UN SDG Lab-incubated methodology for identifying high-performing SMEs aligned with national SDG roadmaps.
Product overview
The Ground_Up Project operates a unified data aggregation platform that connects impact investors with entrepreneurs seeking funding under $20 million. The core product is The Ground_Up Project Platform, which provides tools for information submission, exchange, and analysis. Supplemented by The Investment Clinic, a free educational resource featuring investor podcasts and video lectures on impact investing. The Pipeline Builder Project, developed in partnership with SDG Lab at UN Geneva, serves as the flagship initiative to identify and inventory high-performing SMEs aligned with national SDG priorities, beginning with a Ghana pilot.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- The Ground_Up Project Platform
Quantifiable outcome
- Pipeline Builder workshop at Building Bridges Week 2022 engaged over 70 participants from Ghana and Kenya
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use The Ground_Up Project
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
The Ground_Up Project technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
The Ground_Up Project partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- SDG Lab at United Nations GenevacoreThe Pipeline Builder Project was incubated within SDG Lab at the United Nations in Geneva. The Ground_Up Project and SDG Lab co-developed the Impact Rescue Facility concept for $1 billion to support SMEs in emerging markets. SDG Lab hosts virtual roundtables and serves as connector between SDG stakeholders.
- Calvert Impact CapitalcoreCo-created the Impact Rescue Facility, a target $1 billion financial instrument designed to provide debt financing of up to $10 million to impact investor portfolio companies in Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and South-East Asia. The facility leverages DFI capacity and operational expertise.
- Accelerate 2030coreNetwork partnership through which The Ground_Up Project has provided investment-readiness preparation to entrepreneurs from the Accelerate 2030 ecosystem.
- ITC SheTradescoreNetwork partnership providing investment-readiness preparation to entrepreneurs from the ITC SheTrades network.
- WIPO GreencoreNetwork partnership providing investment-readiness preparation to entrepreneurs from the WIPO Green network.
- GreenCapecoreNetwork partnership providing investment-readiness preparation to entrepreneurs from the GreenCape network.
- Building BridgesminorBuilding Bridges Week 2022 hosted the Pipeline Builder workshop 'Demystifying Risk to SDG Investments in African Markets' bringing together entrepreneurs, investors and government officials from Ghana and Kenya.
- Geneva 2030 EcosystemminorCo-hosted virtual roundtables with the SDG Lab at UN Geneva and Geneva 2030 Ecosystem to share solutions for COVID-19 impact on SDG investments.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
The Ground_Up Project competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Dealogic / Dealsuite for impact (Dealigence-style): Dealsuite is a deal-sourcing and matchmaking platform for M&A and PE professionals. Compared with Ground_Up, both run structured platforms that aggregate vetted deals and connect capital allocators with opportunities, though Dealsuite targets mainstream PE while Ground_Up focuses on the impact/SDG sub-$20M segment.
- Toniic: Toniic is a global impact investing network and curates deal flow among high-net-worth investors and impact funds. It is comparable to Ground_Up because both operate membership-driven platforms that source and pre-qualify impact opportunities for investors seeking exposure to sustainable ventures.
- ImpactBase: ImpactBase is a directory of impact investment funds and vehicles maintained by the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN). It is comparable to Ground_Up as a discovery and inventory tool for institutional impact allocators, though it indexes funds rather than underlying SME deals.
Broad incumbents
- Global Impact Investing Initiative (GIIN): GIIN is the industry body for impact investing and runs IRIS+, impact measurement standards and the ImpactBase directory. It is comparable because it shapes the investor-readiness frameworks Ground_Up relies on and competes for institutional mindshare in the same sustainability-tagging layer.
- Calvert Impact Capital: Calvert Impact Capital is a US non-profit impact investor and the co-developer with Ground_Up of the $1B Impact Rescue Facility. It is a direct strategic partner and the most credible potential capital provider in the company’s ecosystem, making it the most relevant incumbent peer by activity overlap.
- Acumen: Acumen is a pioneer impact investor that sources, incubates and invests in early-stage social enterprises in emerging markets. It directly competes with Ground_Up for the same entrepreneur pool but operates from the capital side rather than the marketplace side.
Emerging players
- BlueMark: BlueMark provides impact verification and benchmarking services to impact investors and fund managers. Both sit in the impact data/verification layer; BlueMark is the incumbent on the assurance side, while Ground_Up covers the deal-sourcing side of the same workflow.
- 60 Decibels: 60 Decibels runs lean data analytics on impact investments and beneficiaries. Both companies sell impact data and benchmarking to investors; 60 Decibels goes upstream into portfolio-level social performance measurement while Ground_Up focuses on sourcing SME deal flow.
- Trase / open data on sustainable finance flows: Trase is an open data platform that maps international trade and finance flows against sustainability metrics. Trase is comparable to Ground_Up’s data-licensing revenue stream: both license sustainability-tagged flow data to governments and financial institutions for ESG and SDG reporting.
Others
- SDG Lab at UN Geneva: SDG Lab is the UN-hosted incubator that incubated Pipeline Builder. It is comparable not as a commercial competitor but as the closest enabling/ecosystem counterpart — its convening power is the single most important distribution channel for Ground_Up today.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
The Ground_Up Project social profiles
Digital presenceThe Ground_Up Project financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
The Ground_Up Project leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
The Ground_Up Project funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
The Ground_Up Project M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about The Ground_Up Project
What does The Ground_Up Project do?
The Ground_Up Project operates a web-based data aggregation platform that sources, inventories, and benchmarks SDG-aligned small and medium-sized enterprises in developing countries that are seeking investments under US$20 million. The platform enables impact investors and entrepreneurs to submit, exchange, and analyze information about impact ventures. It is supplemented by The Investment Clinic, a free educational archive of investor insights, and the Pipeline Builder Project, a UN SDG Lab-incubated methodology for identifying high-performing SMEs aligned with national SDG roadmaps.
Is The Ground_Up Project a public or private company?
The Ground_Up Project is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was The Ground_Up Project founded?
The Ground_Up Project was founded in 2014. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is The Ground_Up Project based?
The Ground_Up Project is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, in the Europe region.
How does The Ground_Up Project make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Platform Services (Fee-based) is the primary driver. The others are data Licensing.
Who are The Ground_Up Project's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Dealogic / Dealsuite for impact (Dealigence-style), Toniic and ImpactBase. Broad incumbents are Global Impact Investing Initiative (GIIN), Calvert Impact Capital and Acumen. Emerging players are BlueMark, 60 Decibels and Trase / open data on sustainable finance flows. SDG Lab at UN Geneva is listed as an others.
Does The Ground_Up Project have an API?
No public API is recorded for The Ground_Up Project.
What industry is The Ground_Up Project in?
The Ground_Up Project's product category is Impact Investment Platform. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSANAJAN, SDG / Thematic Sustainable Investment Funds, with a secondary code of FSANAGAJ, Impact / ESG Multi-Manager Platforms. Its NAICS code is 54151 and its SIC code is 6282.