Discover the 2026 Finance Montréal and KPMG report
Sustainable finance has spent years producing information. Its next challenge is to put that information to work in better decisions. That is where fintech can make a difference, and Québec already has everything it needs to respond.
That is the starting point of La fintech durable au Québec (Sustainable Fintech in Québec), produced with KPMG and launched on October 15 at the OFF Sustainable Finance Summit X Fintech Forum event, held at Espace CDPQ. Erica Coulombe, Executive Director, Resilience and Sustainability at KPMG, presented the study’s key findings, then moderated a panel with Charly Bastard, Co-founder of Novalytics, and Florian Roulle, Vice-President, Sustainable Finance at Finance Montréal.
Erica Coulombe (KPMG), Charly Bastard (Novalytics) and Florian Roulle (Finance Montréal).
What the report shows
20
About twenty companies already active
13 are sustainable fintechs in their own right and 7 offer related solutions.
6 of 13
ESG data leads the way
Nearly half help organizations collect, analyze and manage their environmental, social and governance data.
7 of 10
Selling abroad
Of the 10 companies whose markets are known, 7 have clients outside Canada.
The challenge, then, is not to create a new sector but to get these solutions adopted. To succeed, a fintech must solve a real problem for a financial institution, find a buyer willing to pay and land a first reference client.
From left to right: Erica Coulombe (KPMG) presents the study’s key findings, attendees gathered at Espace CDPQ, and Charly Bastard (Novalytics) during the panel.
The panel: start with the problem, not the solution
After the findings were presented, the panel tested the report against real-world experience. On one side, that of an entrepreneur building AI tools for sustainable finance teams; on the other, that of an organization working day to day with Montréal’s financial institutions. Both panellists agreed on one point. To break through, a technology must meet a concrete need of institutions and find a buyer. Three ideas stood out.
- Start with a real problem. Financial institutions buy solutions that fix a specific problem. For example, a credit manager must be able to explain to a committee how exposed the bank’s loans are to flooding. The data exists, but it is often incomplete or hard to use: that is where a fintech can help.
- Do more with less. ESG teams have more work than before but smaller budgets. They need tools that save time while showing clearly where the data comes from.
- Succeed at home first. Selling to a large Canadian institution takes time. But a first, well-known Québec client then opens doors abroad.
Thank you to KPMG, to our panellists and to everyone who took part in the interviews and workshops.
