The UK Stewardship Code is a 39-page document. For an asset manager, turning its principles into auditable, reportable workflows is a multi-year headache. Maanch, a London-based B-Corp, sells software to digitize that process. Its core product, the Maanch Engagement Tracker, is a SaaS platform designed to centralize an investor's ESG dialogues with portfolio companies, track outcomes, and generate the reports regulators and stakeholders now demand [Maanch, 2024].
Founder and CEO Darshita Gillies, a former chartered accountant at PwC, started the company in 2018 with a focus on mapping philanthropic funding against the UN Sustainable Development Goals [PWM]. The pivot to serving institutional investors came later, a recognition that the capital with the most use over corporate behavior was already sitting in their portfolios. In September 2023, that bet attracted a $10 million seed round led by investor Mark Lyttleton [Maanch, September 2023].
The Wedge: Regulation as a Catalyst
Maanch is not an ESG data provider. It does not sell sustainability ratings or carbon footprint models. Its wedge is the operational grind of stewardship itself: the meetings, the email threads, the voting policies, and the annual reporting. As regulatory frameworks like the EU's Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) and the UK Stewardship Code formalize these duties, the manual approach becomes a liability.
The Engagement Tracker platform aims to systemize this. It allows teams to log interactions, assign action items, and map engagements to specific ESG themes and frameworks like the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) or the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) [Maanch Invest]. The promised output is not just a database, but a defensible audit trail. For a firm like EdenTree Investment Management, a cited partner, the platform provided a structured way to collaborate with a portfolio company on improving supply chain sustainability [Maanch, 2025].
The Founder's Pivot from Philanthropy to Finance
Darshita Gillies's background is a blend of traditional finance and impact. After her time at PwC, her work shifted toward philanthropy and technology aimed at the UN SDGs [PWM]. This origin story is now a core part of Maanch's brand differentiation in a crowded field. Being a certified B-Corp lends credibility when selling to sustainability teams. The company's earlier tools for visualizing philanthropic impact evolved into a platform built with an "impact-native" data model, a selling point for investors who need to demonstrate intentionality, not just compliance.
Gillies leads a small team, estimated at under 50 employees, with roles like Impact & Growth Manager indicating a continued focus on mission-aligned business development [CB Insights] [Sarah Georg LinkedIn, 2026]. The company's advisory services arm, which helps clients with B Corp certification and net-zero strategy, extends the relationship beyond software [Maanch, 2026].
The Competitive Field and Market Risks
The market for ESG and stewardship technology is both crowded and nascent. Competitors range from large portfolio management systems adding ESG modules to specialists like Tumelo, which focuses on shareholder voting and engagement. Maanch's bet is that a dedicated, workflow-first platform combining tech and advisory will win the business of asset managers and owners who are serious about stewardship as a discipline, not a checkbox.
The risks, however, are tangible. The sales cycle to institutional investors is long and fraught with procurement hurdles. The regulatory landscape itself, while a tailwind, is also a moving target; a platform must be constantly updated. Furthermore, the advisory services model, while potentially lucrative, does not scale like pure software.
The company's most plausible answer is integration. The platform is built to align with major frameworks, suggesting a strategy of becoming the system of record that sits alongside, not replaces, an investor's existing tech stack. Success will be measured by landing flagship clients who can serve as reference cases for the industry.
The Capital Behind the Bet
The $10 million seed round is a significant vote of confidence for a company at this stage, particularly one founded by a solo founder. The lead investor, Mark Lyttleton, is a former fund manager at BlackRock whose current focus includes sustainability and technology ventures. His backing provides more than capital; it offers sector legitimacy and likely connectivity into the institutional investment world Maanch is targeting.
| Round | Date | Amount | Lead Investor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seed | Sep 2023 | $10,000,000 | Mark Lyttleton |
| Source: [Maanch, September 2023], [Crunchbase, 2023] |
This capital runway is intended for scaling the team, enhancing the platform, and, crucially, for sales and marketing to penetrate the target market of asset managers and owners. The absence of detailed public traction metrics is typical for a B2B fintech at this stage, making the quality of the investor and the specificity of the product wedge the primary signals to watch.
What Comes After the Seed Check
For Maanch, the next twelve months are about conversion. The product is built, and a major seed round is closed. The question is whether the value proposition,turning stewardship from a compliance burden into a measurable, strategic function,resonates at the price point required to build a venture-scale business.
Key milestones to watch will be named client announcements beyond the cited EdenTree partnership, any expansion into European or North American markets, and the growth of the headcount, particularly in commercial roles. The advisory services will also be a bellwether; if they grow disproportionately, it may indicate that the market wants consultants first and software second.
The $10 million from Lyttleton buys time to prove the model. Can a platform born from SDG mapping become the default operating system for the world's largest asset managers? For Gillies and her team, the engagement is just beginning.
Sources
- [Maanch, September 2023] Maanch secures funding to help asset managers | https://updates.maanch.com/2023/09/maanch-secures-seed-funding/
- [Crunchbase, 2023] Maanch - Crunchbase Company Profile & Funding | https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/maanch
- [PWM] PWMnet article mentioning Maanch | https://www.pwmnet.com/content/29e34743-ea56-58b2-b6c9-5eb17971a717
- [Maanch Invest] Maanch Engagement Tracker | https://maanch-invest.com
- [Maanch, 2025] EdenTree Investment Management case study | https://maanch.com
- [CB Insights] Maanch - CB Insights | https://www.cbinsights.com/company/maanch
- [Sarah Georg LinkedIn, 2026] Sarah Georg - Impact & Growth Manager - Maanch | https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-georg-a83308107/
- [Maanch, 2026] Maanch advisory services page | https://maanch.com
- [Maanch, 2024] Maanch platform capabilities | https://maanch.com