European-based startup StudentFinance has raised a USD 5.3 million seed round as announced on May 19, 2021. The total funds raised to date have been USD 6.6 million.
The round was led by Giant Ventures and Armilar Venture Partners. Existing ventures Mustard Seed Maze, Seedcamp, and Sabadell Venture Capital also participated in the round. Many notable angel investors like Victoria van Lennep (founder of Lendable), Martin Villig (founder of Bolt), Ed Vaizey (former Cultural and Digital Economy Minister, UK), Firestartr (the UK-based early-stage VC syndicate), and Serge Chiaramonte (UK fintech investor).
The startup plans to use the funds to increase the team size three times and to launch itself in the UK and other European markets in the coming months.
About StudentFinance
Founded in 2019 by Mariano Kostelec and Miguel Santo Amaro in Spain first, then followed by Germany and Finland, StudentFinace provides the technological platform to the institutions to provide flexible payment plans in the form of ISAs (income share agreements). It also offers a data intelligence platform that helps in predicting the job demand in the employment market.
The startup currently has 35 education providers signed up. It is also engaged with upskilling platforms like Ironhack and Le Wagon. The competitors of the company are Blair (USA), Leif, Vemo Education, Chancen (Germany), and EdAid (UK).
What does the CEO say?
“StudentFinance is the only platform in this space providing the full end-to-end, cross-border infrastructure to deliver ISAs for students whilst helping to plug the growing skills gap. Not only do we provide the infrastructure to support the ISA financing model, but we also provide data intelligence on the employment market and a career-as-a-service platform that focuses on placing students in the right job. We are creating an equilibrium between supply and demand.”
“With an ISA, students only start paying back tuition once they are employed and earning above a minimum income threshold, with payments structured as a percentage of their earnings. This makes it a success-based model”.
What do the investors say?
Cameron Mclain, the managing partner of Giant Ventures, commented: “What StudentFinance has built empowers any educational institution to offer ISAs as an alternative to upfront tuition or student loans, broadening access to education and opportunity.”
Duarte Mineiro, the partner at Armilar Venture Partners, commented: “StudentFinance is a great opportunity to invest in because aside from its very compelling core purpose, this is a sound business where its economics are backed by a solid proprietary software technology.”
Sia Houchangnia, the partner at Seedcamp, commented: “The need for reskilling the workforce has never been as acute as it is today and we believe StudentFinance has an important role to play in tackling this societal challenge.”
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