A cooperative approach to scaling climate projects

Sponsor founder Michael Grimm has set an ambitious vision. He aims to help close the climate funding gap that continues to hinder progress on reducing CO² emissions. His goal is to make climate mitigation projects faster to develop and easier to finance. As he puts it, “The origin of Sponsor was really asking, what is it going to take for humanity to solve the climate crisis?”

A new way to accelerate climate mitigation efforts

Sponsor offers a digital platform designed to bring the entire climate mitigation project ecosystem into one place. At the outset, Mr Grimm and his team analysed what would be needed to accelerate global action.

He explains their calculations: according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, emissions must fall 43% by 2030 and other assessments suggest that reaching this goal may call for investment levels of around $5.5 trillion per year. Yet only $2 trillion were invested in 2024, leaving a gap of $3.5 trillion. For Mr Grimm, “that gap of $3.5 trillion sounds like a lot of money, but it is actually less than ten cents out of every $100 moving around in the global economy.”

The challenge is compounded by a lack of qualified professionals and slow project cycles. “There are less than 100,000 people on the planet who understand project finance,” he notes. “It is impossible to triple our workload, which is what we need to do.” Sponsor aims to solve this by offering shared knowledge, standardised structures and digital tools that shorten the journey from origination to financial close.

If the gap is closed, the impact could be significant. Mr Grimm highlights the potential for millions of new jobs and major reductions in energy and social costs.

Somebody had to do it. We really need something like this and nobody was building it. So I decided to build it.” Michael Grimm, Sponsor

To address a global problem, he chose a cooperative structure. “There is a legal entity type that is specifically designed to enable people to come together and solve problems, and that is a cooperative,” he explains. Each user becomes a member with one vote, ensuring transparency and fairness. Those who help the cooperative grow are rewarded through revenue‑sharing mechanisms.

Luxembourg as the strategic home of Sponsor

After evaluating locations worldwide, the team chose Luxembourg as the place to incorporate the cooperative. Its legal framework enables global membership and provides a reputable financial environment. “Luxembourg laws are set up such that we can have global members,” he says. Regulatory approvals granted in Luxembourg can be passported across the EU, facilitating efficient expansion.

The national focus on sustainable and green finance also played a role. Sponsor’s engagement with the ecosystem deepened during its participation in the LHoFT Catapult acceleration programme, where it delivered the winning pitch. Mr Grimm describes the experience as “a really good opportunity to meet people and see how the ecosystem works.”

Fundraising, growth and opening doors to private investors

Sponsor is currently raising a €10 million seed round and is in late‑stage discussions with venture capital firms and family offices. The capital will support regulatory approvals for the three licenses they are pursuing from the Luxembourg financial regulator CSSF and help turn contracted revenues into realised growth. The company already hosts more than €22 billion of climate mitigation projects on its platform and the pipeline continues to build. Sponsor earns a small percentage by supporting these projects through to successful financial close.

Mr Grimm intends to open climate mitigation investing to individuals once licences are secured. Today, private investors have limited access to this asset class. “We are opening up an entire asset class that humanity does not have access to unless you are a big organisation,” he explains.

As Sponsor scales, one of his biggest challenges is hiring fast enough to support the growing project pipeline. “My biggest challenge has been hiring people to keep up with the pace of growth,” he says.

Mr Grimm encourages founders to learn from experienced entrepreneurs, choose a problem that truly matters and find a productive way to address it. He welcomes cooperation from other founders who care about solving the climate funding gap, emphasising that collaboration is central to Sponsor’s mission.