Spotlight Interview: ValueCo CEO Mariem Mhadhbi On Making ESG Count in Capital Markets

Mariem Mhadhbi knows about finance. 

Through her roles at Société Générale, ING France, Bank Degroof, and Exclusive Partners, which have taken her from Paris to Amsterdam, New York, and Brussels, she has spent years working on the financial markets and crafting financial solutions while advising institutional investors in asset management. Now, she’s bringing that expertise to sustainability with her startup, ValueCo.

Founded in 2022 with Mathieu Joubrel, ValueCo intends to bridge the gap between financial performance and sustainability by helping investors and companies align ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) factors with market expectations. With a recent €1.5 million fundraise from La Banque Postale’s innovation fund and 115K, ValueCo’s co-founders believe they can revolutionize how ESG is measured and valued in the market.

We caught up with Mariem to discuss her journey and the vision for ValueCo.

Q: What is ValueCo, and what makes it unique?

MM: ValueCo helps investors and companies make Environmental Social and Governance factors a measurable and actionable part of decision-making. We don’t create or process ESG data ourselves. Instead, we analyze how professional investors interpret it, to create a consensus view of market sentiment on sustainability. We work with both companies and investors.

For companies, we provide a clear picture of how their ESG performance is perceived by the market, allowing them to align their policies with investor expectations and adapt their ESG strategies. For investors, we deliver standardized insights on ESG trends and regulatory compliance, helping them navigate risks and identify investment opportunities.

We are currently the only company doing this in the world today.

Q: How does this differ from traditional ESG providers?

MM: Traditional ESG providers focus on raw data and scoring. We’re different because we don’t assign scores ourselves; instead, we show how investors interpret ESG data and how those opinions drive investment decisions.

It’s not just about having good ESG data—it’s about understanding how that data influences market behavior. Our work complements that of other industry players, including ESG rating agencies, by adding transparency and further insights into market sentiment.

Q: What inspired you to launch ValueCo?

MM: During the Covid lockdown, I began reflecting deeply on the financial system and its priorities. One question kept coming back to me: “Are financial markets taking our survival into account?” The uncomfortable answer was: probably not.

This realization struck me as particularly significant for long-term investors, who manage vast sums of money and face liabilities spanning decades. Their portfolios will inevitably be shaped by climate change and social issues. Yet, when I asked myself, “How are sustainability factors influencing investment decisions today?” the picture was frustratingly unclear.

I saw a unique opportunity to change that—to make ESG factors an essential, measurable driver of financial markets rather than a box-ticking compliance exercise. That’s the mission behind ValueCo. The name reflects what we aim to do: create real financial and market value while leveraging the collective intelligence of investors to inspire meaningful change.

Q: What problem is ValueCo solving exactly?

MM: ValueCo is transforming sustainability factors into clear, actionable insights—making them as impactful and transparent as credit parameters in financial markets. By turning ESG into an explicit market parameter, we’re bridging the gap between corporate sustainability efforts and investor expectations.

In credit markets, transparency is built in. Companies publish reports, rating agencies assess them, and tools like Credit Default Swaps (CDS) reflect investor sentiment about a company’s ability to repay debt. 

The ESG landscape, however, is far more fragmented and opaque. While public companies disclose their sustainability strategies and agencies provide ratings, there’s little clarity on how investors collectively perceive this information or integrate it into decisions.

Investors—whether asset managers, banks, or institutions—use diverse data sources, from satellite imagery to employee reviews, to create their own ESG scores. But these scores are proprietary, rarely shared, and lack standardization. This creates a fragmented system with no market consensus, leaving companies in the dark about how their ESG efforts are viewed.

Despite spending up to €600,000 annually on ESG reporting, companies often don’t know if their strategies align with market expectations or how they impact investor decisions. This lack of transparency limits the potential for ESG factors to drive meaningful change.

ValueCo solves this by standardizing the way ESG perceptions are captured and analyzed. We provide companies with a clear view of how the market perceives their sustainability performance. This transparency empowers companies to align their strategies with investor expectations while helping investors make more informed, impactful decisions—ensuring that sustainability becomes a true driver of growth.

Q: How much does ESG *really* matter in financial markets?

MM: Regulatory requirements aside - that are a lot stricter in Europe than for example the US – the risks associated with ignoring ESG factors are undeniable. Climate change, for example, is no longer a long-term risk—it’s impacting markets today. Companies that mistreat their employees face talent shortages, and poor environmental practices can lead to regulatory scrutiny and stock crashes.

At the end of 2022, the Colombian Minister of Labor tweeted he would carry out an investigation on working conditions at the offices of a call center company, Teleperformance, which caused its stock price to drop 30% and the company had to buy back its shares from Investors. ESG factors are important and can directly affect financial performance and the company’s evolution. Understanding and pricing ESG market risks are therefore essential.

Q: What has been ValueCo’s biggest milestone so far?

MM: We’ll soon be celebrating our 3rd anniversary, and it’s taken time to convince investors around the world to work with us, so I’m happy to say to date that to date we now work with over 40 asset managers and institutional investors, representing more than €5 trillion in assets, and covering 30,000 companies worldwide on an annual SaaS subscription basis.

Also, raising €1.5 million from La Banque Postale’s innovation fund, 115K, has been a huge step forward. It’s allowed us to expand our team, strengthen partnerships, and position ValueCo as a global player in ESG market intelligence.

Q: What’s the goal of your recent fundraise?

MM: The fundraise will help us reach our next milestones: expanding our team with new sales and tech talent, deepening our relationships with corporates and asset managers, and scaling our platform globally. Our team is based in France, but we have been operating globally from day one, our ambition is to make ValueCo the global leader in ESG market intelligence.

Q: Where do you see ValueCo in the future?

MM: I’d like ValueCo to be known as the company that transformed financial markets by making ESG explicit and actionable. We can’t overhaul the system overnight, but by tweaking incentives and providing the right tools, we can drive real change.

When all market participants—companies, investors, and regulators—see sustainability as a business opportunity, I’ll consider our mission a success.

Financial markets have the power to drive sustainability, but ESG needs to be more than a checkbox—it must be seen as the core financial factor it is. At ValueCo, we’re committed to making that vision a reality.