The sustainable bank's platform offers a range of crowdfunding opportunities to investors and bonds will be eligible for the Innovative Finance Isa.

People will be able to invest as little as £500 in established charities or businesses that have been screened by Triodos for social and environmental impact, the viability of their business model and the creditability of the management team.

Triodos's platform is launching with three bond offers and interest rates ranging from 5-7%.

These bonds include:

• Mendip Renewables, which aims to raise £1.8m by 31st March to take a 5MW operational solar farm in Somerset into community ownership
• Thera Trust, which is looking to raise £5m to provide 14 new homes for people with learning disabilities
• Rendesco, which hopes to raise £5.5m to develop green energy from ground source heat pumps.

Bevis Watts, managing director at Triodos Bank UK (pictured top), said social investment needed to be more accessible to UK investors.

"We've been crowdfunding since before it became a well-known term.

With the new Triodos crowdfunding platform, we're recognising the huge potential of crowdfunding and responding to demand for Innovative Finance Isas.

Investors are looking for opportunities that allow them to support progressive companies, social enterprises and charities making a positive impact, while also receiving good, long-term returns."

Triodos has raised more than £130m to fund over 50 impact projects in the last 15 years, including a charity bond for Golden Lane Housing.

The crowdfunding platform follows the launch of the Triodos personal current account introduced last year.

"To tackle the big issues we face today, we need to inspire investors to support progressive and pioneering businesses,' said Dan Hird, head of corporate finance at Triodos Bank.

We know the interest is there and having seen the crowdfunding sector maturing in recent years now feels like the perfect time to increase our presence in the ethical crowdfunding market.

"It aligns with our mission at Triodos Bank to make money work for positive social, environmental and cultural change."