Darshita Gillies: Adoption and integration of impact in financial services

Darshita Gillies

This week, the TTI Interview Series covers our member Darshita Gillies. Darshita is the founder & CEO of Maanch, whose primary purpose is to leverage technology to accelerate the adoption and integration of impact in financial services. She’s listed among 100 Most Meaningful Business Leaders 2020 and 100 Most Influential in UK-India Relations. Her professional foundations cover roles as chartered accountant, operational risk manager, investment banker and executive coach.

In this interview, Darshita talks about her aim to accelerate the convergence of finance and technology in order to deliver planetary wellbeing and prosperity.

“Robust digital systems can streamline and operationalize the flow of impact data.”

Darshita, tell us about how your work intersects with the impact space.

Maanch is a UK-based B Corp developing technology to measure, monitor and report on the impact of investments, organizations and philanthropy through the lens of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We provide pioneering technology solutions for organizations to deliver lasting impact.  

Since COVID-19, there is an amplified need for robust digital systems that can streamline and operationalize the flow of impact data. Through our M GIVE solution, we have built core systems for impact measurement and reporting for the philanthropic sector. We are now expanding our technological R&D for building efficient and effective impact data systems for the private sector - like investors, intermediaries and the investee companies.

Our work intersects with the impact space by allowing companies to spend less time, effort and money on mundane operational tasks on impact measurement and reporting. Globally, businesses will promptly identify unsustainable activities, amend their short-term activities and long-term strategies to ensure capital improves lives, preserves planetary sustainability and enables prosperous economies. Investors will receive transparent, clear, concise and comparable data, instantly and thereby make impactful investments.

“A more holistic impact lens.”

What is your own definition of impact?

I define impact as the effect, positive or negative, that an organization or investment, philanthropic or otherwise, has on people, planet, prosperity and partnership. I also see that impact reporting can be complex. Investors, founders, employees and customers value companies with strong purpose and ESG performance.

“Climate change as the defining crisis of our time.”

Darshita, what do you see as the most important issue to address in the next 10 years?

The challenges laid out by the 17 UN Sustainable Development goals is a global framework for all nations and organizations to priorities for the next 10 years. To me, climate change and the threat to our planet are the defining crisis of our time. I expect that working towards climate sustainability will become even more of a mainstream priority over the next 10 years. Recent years have shown increased attention towards investments producing not only profit, but also positive impact on people and planet. This is no longer seen as an “added extra”; but necessary for our future - after all, an investment isn’t an investment if it destroys our planet.

What is the greatest challenge you face to scale your impact?

It is difficult for businesses, especially SMEs or high growth companies, to develop the right framework, tools and data which will be of practical value in understanding their current and potential impact across their activities. There is also a lack of trust in CSR, in data produced and in long-term commitment to ESG and related factors. But there is a huge pressure from all business stakeholders, like employees, investors and customers, to avoid harm to people and the planet and instead make a positive and measurable contribution to their society, community and networks.

The lack of standardized frameworks or set ways to measure impact makes it hard for companies to know where to start. It is easy for some to get overwhelmed by the complexities and challenges of impact… and be so scared of doing it wrong that they put off doing it at all.

“Developing the right framework, tools and data which will be of practical value.”

“I envision Maanch will be synonymous with Impact.”

Darshita, what is your long-term vision and how do you measure & quantify your impact?

I envision Maanch to become synonymous with Impact. Capital has an impact on people, planet and economies. Our economies have grown over 100 times in the last decade and yet we continue to have challenges that can be easily solved by capital. This indicates the need for deploying emerging technologies in enabling the distribution of capital towards activities that enable us to have a sustainable and prosperous future. With the collective adoption of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Agenda by 193 countries in 2015, we now have a tangible and metric driven benchmark for sustainability. The achievement of the SDGs calls for unprecedented collaboration between governments, businesses and nonprofits. The long-term vision I have for my work is for Maanch to play a key role in creating digital systems that enable automation, interoperability and comparability of impact data. Comparing impact data of sectors and stakeholders in this way will allow these systems to be fit for ongoing monitoring and allocation of capital towards the 2030 Agenda and beyond.

What are some misconceptions you’ve noticed regarding what “impact” is all about?

There is a misconception that “impact” just means the impact on the environment. In reality, impact is much broader and can relate to various elements of any given organization’s effects on people, planet, prosperity and partnerships. The word “impact” in and of itself is open-ended. It is often used non-specifically, which leads to a myriad of problems. For example, organizations may make grandiose statements about their “impact” without explaining the data behind it, what they are measuring and how.

This ties into the issue we are currently facing with greenwashing. It refers to a marketing spin that makes the activities of an organization look more sustainable and environmentally friendly than they actually are. Often, organizations lack the intention and data to back their sustainability claims, resulting in greenwashing. This is happening more and more - not only on the environmental front, but also in organizations suggesting that they have a positive impact on people, for example, when upon examination of their supply chains it becomes clear that is not the reality.