• In December 2019 the European Union adopted a far-reaching Directive on the protection of whistleblowing ( “EU Whistleblowing Directive”)
• Launched more than 3 years ago, the EU Directive is a far-reaching piece of legislation providing a voice and protecting the rights of millions of workers across Europe.
• Scandals such as Wirecard, The Voice, Qatargate and Royal Mail prove the necessity of having a next-generation whistleblowing mechanism, which is what People Intouch is providing.
• Currently 500 mid-sized and large organisations are using innovative platform, reaching millions of employees worldwide, resulting in 50,000 reports in 2022.

Amsterdam, 24 January 2023 – All companies operating in the European Union are to comply with the EU Whistleblowing Directive by the end of this year (in Belgium on February 15th). The Directive is aimed at providing a minimum standard of protection across the European Union to employees who report breaches of European law, such as fraud, misconduct or harassment with their employer. In the run-up to compliance, leading ethics & compliance software provider People Intouch has seen a rapid increase in the adoption of their whistleblowing platform SpeakUp across 60 countries. The acquisition of a majority stake in the company by B2B software investor Fortino Capital proves the market’s confidence in its mission and solution.

Leveraging technology & knowledge for easy compliance

Founded in 2004, People Intouch is a leading ethics & compliance software provider focused on providing whistleblowing solutions under the SpeakUp brand. Around 500 mid-sized and large organisations in over 60 countries rely on the innovative SpeakUp platform every day. This enables them to connect with and protect their employees, suppliers and the communities they operate in, by providing them with a user-friendly, secure and efficient way to report and correct irregularities and unethical behaviour. The SpeakUp platform is operational in almost every country in the world and allows employees to speak up in their native language 24/7/365 days per year via mobile app, web or telephone.

Adoption fuelled by the Directive

Fuelled by upcoming regulation and an overall desire for more transparency, the company is seeing the volume of reports consistently increase by high double-digit figures in recent years.  More than 50,000 reports were submitted in 2022. To meet this growth, the company decided to invest significantly in its next generation SpeakUp platform and SpeakUp Success Model. The SpeakUp platform combines anonymous communication, advanced case management and analytics functionalities. The SpeakUp Success Model ensures strong embedding in the organisation. The company’s unique approach is valued by many leading European multinationals such as Nestlé, Randstad, KLM, Skanska, Polestar, Sweco and HILTI. Fortino Capital recognised the value of the platform, the team’s deep domain knowledge and customer proximity, resulting in a majority investment and partnership with the company to help fuel its further growth.

Maurice Canisius, CEO of People Intouch: “Whistleblowing is a priority in many boardrooms today, and rightly so, because we all know speaking up is hard. Our mission is to help organisations combat misconduct. The way we do that is by making it easier for people to speak up. In the last few years, we managed to combine our unique expertise and knowledge into our next generation SpeakUp platform. We help our customers to more easily address the whistleblowing dilemma and navigate the journey towards organisational transparency while also making them regulatory compliant. Our entire team is looking forward to partner up with an experienced investor like Fortino. With them on board, we will be able to deliver more knowledge, keep innovating our product and make an even bigger impact with our customers and their employees.”

Flavio de Souza, Chief Compliance Officer of Nestlé Group: “People Intouch’s team is passionate and willing to efficiently understand our needs and developments. Their unique SpeakUp technology and how they approach us have been essential for the continuity and development of our global compliance program. We are looking forward to seeing what is next.”

About People Intouch

Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Amsterdam, People Intouch is one of pioneers in the field of whistleblowing software.  We do not believe in the traditional approach to whistleblowing and aspire to help our customers move beyond paper compliance. When employees feel safe enough to speak up, no one needs to blow the whistle. Our cloud-based software solution SpeakUp® allows people to report from anywhere in the world, in any language and in full anonymity. By focusing on the dialogue, we help organisations talk to their employees and create safer work environments. Our unique approach to whistleblowing is valued by many leading European multinationals, such as Nestlé, Randstad, KLM, Skanska, Polestar, Sweco and HILTI. For more information: peopleintouch.com

About Fortino Capital

Fortino Capital is a European investment company with a focus on high-growth B2B software solutions managing two private equity funds and two venture capital funds. With offices in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, Fortino backs exceptional and ambitious entrepreneurs in North-Western Europe. Fortino Capital’s private equity portfolio includes Symbio (DE), VanRoey (BE), BizzMine (BE) Mobilexpense (BE), Efficy CRM (BE), Tenzinger (NL), Maxxton (NL), Bonitasoft (FR) among others. Fortino’s Venture Capital portfolio includes Vertuoza (BE), TechWolf (BE), Timeseer.ai (BE), Zaion (FR), Salonkee (LUX), Sides (DE), D2X (NL), Peers (DE), Reveall (NL) and Kosli (NO) among others.