Evoluno, publisher of an innovative solution to transform mental health into a business, announces a fundraising of €600 k, from business angels and institutional partners such as Finance&invest.Brussels, Digital Attraxion, and Invest.B.W
The number of people on long-term sick leave has just crossed 500,000 people in Belgium (more than unemployment), of which almost 40% are due to mental health-related disorders. In particular, long-term burn-outs and depressions have increased by 40% over the past 4 years. To end this epidemic of malaise, the government is talking about imposing stronger penalties on companies that do not take effective measures against absenteeism. But how to deal with it? Actors are mobilizing to change the situation.
Evoluno, a company created at the end of 2020 within the digital health incubator E-Health Venture by digital experts and an experienced psychologist (Egide Altenloh), has set itself the objective of helping employers to better prevent burn-outs and other mental well-being difficulties. Evoluno combines a digital tool for self-assessment and rapid (micro-learning) and confidential learning, with the use of internal or external networks to which users are guided according in particular to self-assessment tools made available .
According to Anne Cambier, an experienced HR professional (ex-HRD Orange), investor and member of the board of directors, it is time: “There is an emergency, the mental health of employees is bad. A real and deep suffering, and beyond that, a gigantic impact for the economy and businesses. Looking for innovative solutions that go beyond traditional solutions based on psychosocial risks, companies want to act. Evoluno's approach, based on a positive and inclusive transformation method, combining digital and human, appealed to me. ”
Customers are impressed too. Medi-Market, Scarlet, as well as many SMEs are among the customers a few months after the launch. Big prestigious names who prefer to remain discreet, in the field of consulting and luxury, have also adopted the solution. And the impact follows, with between 30 and 50% of staff members signing up, and reporting improvement in their condition as a result of the solution.
Evoluno is now counting on these fresh funds to accelerate. For Alexandre Vandermeersch, co-founder: “Beyond this fresh money that will be invested in our product and our commercial development, we are happy to count on a group of real agents of change who are joining the adventure.”
Indeed, among the participants in this round table, we find private players such as the Go.Green fund and SMILE Impact (linked to the Anais Digital agency), or largely from the Be-Angels network, specializing in investment impact. And there are also more institutional players such as Finance&invest.Brussels, Digital Attraxion, and Invest.BW. These regional funds also look favorably on this type of company.
According to Pierre Hermant, CEO Finance&invest.Brussels: “We believe that it is possible to combine commercial objective and societal impact. This is one of the strengths of this project: to meet both a need of companies and society. And we are delighted to support Evoluno in this adventure.”
The board of directors will include, in addition to two of the founders Matthieu Gilson and Alexandre Vandermeersch, two experienced business angels, Anne Cambier and Baudouin vanMale. In addition, Xavier Pansaers, former COO of Odoo, will offer his help as an independent member. Finally, Claire Munck, CEO of BE Angels, will also be a member.
Alexandre Vandermeersch concludes: “It is time to change our approach. More and more managers see the mental health of their employees as an asset in which to invest, and not as a risk to be managed. We look forward to being able to support more in their journey, thanks to this fundraiser.”