Customers worth corporations that create that means, as do staff. This rising demand has created alternatives for platforms to facilitate significant company engagement by progressive options that give again to society.
French startup Dift is one instance, with a platform that helps corporations reward their shoppers and staff with donations that assist social and environmental causes of their selection — becoming a member of the dots between advertising and impression.
Initially referred to as Captain Trigger, Dift rebranded in 2024. The brand new identify is a contraction of the “don” (the French phrase for “donation”) and “gift”, which the startup hopes will turn out to be ubiquitous sufficient to show right into a verb.
“Our dream at Dift is for as many people as possible to discover local causes that resonate with them. Because we know that giving makes people happy,” Dift cofounder and CEO, Georges Basdevant instructed Fortune. “To achieve this, we have a message for all Chief Marketing Officers of visionary brands: Have you considered involving your customers in your impact initiatives?”
Basdevant could also be a dreamer interesting to visionaries, however he’s additionally a doer. So is Dift president and cofounder Frédéric Mazzella, who beforehand cofounded French ridesharing unicorn BlaBlaCar in 2006.
With 80 million passengers in 2023, BlaBlaCar is now certainly one of Europe’s prime scaleups (though it has no plans to IPO simply but). However the carpooling app hit loads of bumps alongside the highway, and solely reached profitability in 2023 after a “pretty rough” pandemic.
This taught Mazzella a factor or two about navigating uncertainty, and the way some fundamentals, like individuals’s intuition to attach and contribute, by no means change. That’s why he’s betting that even in robust instances for corporations and households, Dift’s mannequin will discover its footing.
“Crisis or not, one thing remains clear: the expectation for businesses to align profit with purpose is here to stay. This is a fundamental trend—90% of consumers expect brands to take action, according to a Oney study,” Mazzella mentioned.
Manufacturers are listening, too. Dift is simply three years outdated, however has already secured main prospects corresponding to Accor, Carrefour, Engie and FDJ. This additionally helped it develop its attain past France; Accor’s loyalty program ALL, as an illustration, has greater than 100 million members worldwide.
The use case itself is each easy and impactful: Due to Dift, ALL members can use their factors to assist causes, corresponding to offering clear water to areas in want or serving to unemployed individuals practice for brand new job alternatives.
In line with Accor’s Chief Loyalty & E-commerce Officer, Mehdi Hemici, the initiative has raised over 225,000 euros since its inception. “By integrating sustainability into our loyalty program, we’re redefining how journey and objective can go hand in hand.”
For corporations, this additionally ensures that impression is just not solely a price heart. There’s enterprise worth to be derived from emotional advertising, which will also be extra environment friendly. “It creates a new bond between companies and their clients based on action around a shared purpose,” mentioned Mazzella.
The development is increasing to monetary giants too: Dift distributed greater than €10 million so far, and just lately expanded its attain by a partnership with BNP Paribas. The financial institution had already launched a mechanism to include a donation element into its monetary merchandise, which Dift will now assist scale.
In line with Youri Siegel, Head of BNP Paribas World Markets Sustainable Structuring, the aim of the initiative is to “encourage philanthropic engagement among both institutional and retail investors, enabling them to make a positive impact through their investments.”
Dift has impression embedded into its DNA, whereas being VC-compatible: In 2022, this ‘mission-driven company’ raised a €3.5 million seed spherical led by VC agency OneRagtime, with participation from MAIF Affect, Daphni, AFI Ventures and VNV World. “As Patagonia shows,” mentioned Basdevant, “nothing brings individuals collectively greater than making a distinction collectively.”
This story was initially featured on Fortune.com
