Estonian startup Grünfin ceases its operation after four years

Tallinn-based Grünfin, a sustainable investing platform focusing on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors is shutting its operation after four years.

The company’s CEO Karin Neme made an official announcement on LinkedIn.

“After over 4 years of building and running Grünfin, we let the world know with a heavy heart that we’re shutting it down. We’re not at the end of runway, we know it won’t come together and we have given it all.”

Alvar Lumberg, Karin Nemec, and Triin Hertmann founded Grünfin with the mission of making sustainable investing both easy and accessible.

The Estonian company aimed to drive significant capital toward positive impact, aspiring to become the leading sustainable investing platform in Europe.

Over the years, the team developed a product that resonated with customers, demonstrating that sustainable investment strategies can yield favorable returns—98 per cent of their portfolios reported positive performance.

“Our great product (NPS ~60) was not enough. The trust barrier, the misconception in peoples’ minds that sustainable investing has low returns, and the lack of urgency to start investing now – have all been challenges for us while building Grünfin. We tried many approaches but couldn’t overcome those barriers to achieve the high speed growth at scale. And we know we gave it all,” adds Neme.

Grünfin: Founded to ensure a sustainable future

Grünfin was founded by two mothers, Karin Nemec and Triin Hertmann. As parents, they shared a common concern – ensuring a sustainable future for the next generation.

They felt the lack of impact-driven investing platforms that are sophisticated yet easy enough for beginners. And this is what gave birth to Grünfin.

The Estonian company aims to take out the fear and complexity of setting up a sustainable investment portfolio.

It also tries to alleviate fears that sustainable investments have a lower potential for returns than regular investments.