StudentFinance.com, a fintech company building the technology and data infrastructure to enable education providers globally to offer Income Share Agreements (ISAs), has secured a USD5.3 million (EUR4.5 million) seed round co-led by Giant Ventures and Armilar Venture Partners, with the intention to expand its operation into the UK later this year.
Existing investors Mustard Seed Maze and Seedcamp, along with Sabadell Venture Capital, are also participating in the round, as well as a strong list of angel investors, which includes: Victoria van Lennep (founder of Lendable); Martin Villig (founder of Bolt); Ed Vaizey (the UK’s longest-serving Culture & Digital Economy Minister); Firestartr (UK-based early-stage VC); Serge Chiaramonte (UK fintech investor); and more.
StudentFinance, which launched at the beginning of 2020, is helping to plug the growing skills gap and democratise education simultaneously, by providing both the technology infrastructure for education providers to offer flexible payment plans in the form of ISAs and data intelligence on the employment market to predict job demand. In its first year of operation, StudentFinance has partnered with more than 35 education providers across several European countries, managing over EUR5 million worth of ISAs, growing this figure more than 100x during the pandemic.
The fintech firm is working with some established schools and upskilling platforms including Ironhack and Le Wagon and will use this funding to triple the size of its team, hiring specialists in product, data, engineering and design, as well as operations, HR, finance and legal. StudentFinance’s augmented team plans to launch in the UK and other European markets in the coming months.
Read more/Source: Private Equity Wire