Chinese Philosopher Confucius once said, “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” This adage truly resembles the journey of Cecilia Repinski, CEO, and Founder of Green Assets Wallet. A passionate leader, Cecilia loves her job and through technology aims at making a major transformational impact on the future. Known for her bold yet grounded leadership style, Cecilia envisions a future where finances will be powered by technology. Cecilia has a vision of being a part of the technological revolution that will not only lead to people having unlimited financial access but also to prosperity and a sustainable society.
In conversation with Aspioneer Cecilia Repinski reveals why she see capital as energy in the global economy and how her company is working to create real-world positive impact.
The inception saga
Cecilia Repinski: “I have always been passionate about a sustainable trajectory for life on Earth. In my previous career, I have worked with sustainable finance in different forms; as an advisory to the World Bank, IFC, Inter-American Development Bank to ESG analysis for leading asset managers amongst other positions. Throughout my work-life, and regardless of platform, I have always had one foot in research and innovation and one in practice, for example, bridging scientific knowledge with daily investment decisions. However, there has been one question on my mind throughout my previous career: How do we ensure sustainable finance leads to actual results in the real economy? Only then will capital be able to truly deliver on a sustainable trajectory for Earth. Therefore, my core belief is credible and trusted impact. That is why I founded Green Assets Wallet -to unleash global capital at scale for the transition into a better Earth. Green Assets Wallet was launched in 2019. It was co-created by a unique consortium of leading capital market actors, green finance experts, and technology innovators formed under the lead of Stockholm Green Digital Finance. It later fledged into the company it is today. Green Assets Wallet is designed to inject efficiency and transparency into the green debt market and unleash capital at scale. The objective is to accelerate the market for green investments using emerging technology in support of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the objectives of the Paris Agreement. Our headquarters are in Sweden and we have team members working across Europe, from Germany to Macedonia.”
Transforming debt capital market
Cecilia Repinski: “Green Assets Wallet sets a new standard in terms of how we do business in debt capital markets. Green Assets Wallet makes it easy to drive capital to solutions that are needed to have an impact in the world. It serves all actors in the debt capital system to have a transformational impact for further action and investment. We support all these actors which include issuers, investors, and validators of sustainable assets to generate quantifiable real at-scale impact. We act as a catalyst to drive capital flow towards decarbonized, sustainable, and just societies and economies. We also provide the innovation required in areas such as finding sustainable projects, allocating capital, and how they can report on impact for true, at-scale, net zero-aligned climate impact. It provides a complementary but dramatically different approach to how we report on impact from the one that has been taken conventionally by institutional investors and issuers to date.”
I have always been passionate about a sustainable trajectory for life on Earth. In my previous career, I have worked with sustainable finance in different forms; as an advisory to the World Bank, IFC, Inter-American Development Bank to ESG analysis for leading asset managers amongst other positions.
Leading the change
Cecilia Repinski: “The world faces unprecedented challenges such as climate change, population growth, and resource scarcity. Climate change is the defining challenge of our time, closely interlinked to other global challenges. The need for governments, financial institutions, and corporations to address climate change is well-known. However, current disclosure of climate change strategies, the incomplete assessment of climate risks, inconsistent corporate data on transition paths raise questions about whether current efforts are enough to halt the crisis.
This is the reason why we exist as a company to harness the power of institutional capital to catalyze impact at scale to help achieve net zero economies. By effectively directing capital flows to build sustainable and prosperous societies we can succeed with the 1,5 degree and 2030 agenda. Everything we do at Green Assets Wallet is for the benefit of scaling impact for more prosperous and sustainable societies on Earth. At Green Assets Wallet it is all about quality, magnitude, and timeliness of impact.”
A balanced mind. A balanced life
Cecilia Repinski: “I am a certified yoga alliance teacher. I also spend a lot of time in nature. Working with your passion calls for balance because it is very easy to get consumed. By spending a few hours in the forest over the weekend, I am able to recharge and throw myself into a new work week with energy and a clear mindset. This also helps with making sound decisions and staying grounded in a rapidly changing environment. In start-up things move very fast, and because I am here for the long run and I have to live that way. If I get a chance, I would love to have dinner with N.K. Jemisin, author of the Broken Earth Trilogy. I am a huge fan!”
Growing together
Cecilia Repinski: “As a team, we constantly share news and updates in our market in our internal communications platform. This enables us to discuss new developments and keep a record of them. But above all, we learn so much from our clients and platform users. When they share their pain points with us, it is like an invitation to respond that we cannot deny. After all, it is our mission to treasure and serve the actors and people who are building a better Earth.”
Envisioning a brighter future
Cecilia Repinski: “Millennials are both tech-savvy and interested in the future of Earth. Therefore, I think that companies such as ours that apply fintech to solve real-world problems will be trusted and used by the younger generations. To rebuild back better, financial actors need to steer capital to where it is most needed and result in the intended impact. We see ourselves being part of that process with our platform. We have very exciting solutions in the pipeline that will further help investors make informed asset allocation choics and evaluate the impact of their investment while enabling credible actors and bond issuers to demonstrate credibility and attract capital to implement impact. Stay tuned!”
