Manish Vara

Manish Vara is a British-Asian entrepreneur and fintech operator with a background spanning financial services, higher education, and technology. He studied Management and Business at De Montfort University and went on to build experience across Metro Bank, LQID, and i-Realise before channelling his banking credentials and entrepreneurial drive into climate technology. He co-founded ekko in 2019 alongside Oli Cook, Simon Toller, and Tom Greenwood, building the company during the Covid-19 pandemic while balancing full-time roles — a feat he attributes to the complementary skills and collective discipline of the founding team.

At ekko, Vara serves as Co-Founder and Chief Commercial Officer, leading commercial partnerships and the company's go-to-market strategy. He has been instrumental in securing high-profile collaborations with organisations including Mastercard, Worldpay, Volt, Tusk, Gold Standard, and Conservation International, and has represented ekko at the Houses of Parliament alongside the company's CEO. His philosophy of embedded sustainability — turning every payment into an opportunity for positive environmental impact — has underpinned ekko's award-winning product strategy.

ekko's platform empowers banks, fintechs, payment providers, and employers to integrate real-time carbon tracking, tree planting, and ocean plastic collection into financial products and employee benefit schemes. The company raised £2m in a seed round led by Fuel Ventures, with participation from Sorven Partners and Mishcon de Reya, and has gone on to win multiple awards for innovation in sustainable finance, including Best Achievement in Sustainability 2023.