StudentFinance raises €39m Series A

StudentFinance, which helps people ‘upskill’ through education financing, has raised €39m in a Series A funding round. 

Co-founder and former CEO of Monzo Tom Blomfield is among those already invested in the fintech, founded in the early months of the pandemic. 

“The demand for workforce upskilling has never been greater. We’re on a mission to plug this gap across Europe while empowering individuals to level-up their careers,” said Mariano Kostelec, co-founder and CEO of StudentFinance. 

Since its launch in 2020, StudentFinance has helped “thousands” of people access more than 250 upskilling programs through more than 50 education providers. 

Cash from the new round will be used to target the UK, and Germany after receiving authorisation from the FCA and the German financial regulators last year, as well as the Spanish market after recently partnering with the European Investment Fund.

The company develops AI models to map the most in-demand skills, qualifies the leading education providers to tackle skills gaps, and then provides flexible financing options to people seeking to upskill through those programs.

StudentFinance plans to grow into new channels too, helping corporates to help employees upskill at scale, for example, car manufacturers shifting away from combustion engines to electric cars.

It offers both two models of payment. “Success-based” financing and more typical fixed instalments. Users only start paying back once they are employed and earning above a minimum income threshold. The former is dependent on a formula based on future earnings.

Our platform is currently over-subscribed so, with the new funds, we’re looking forward to helping as many people as possible embark on training courses to upskill, Kostelec, said. 

“We aim to expand our coverage to build the workforce for the future, in particular in areas such as technology, AI and climate change,” he added. 

Ed Vaizey, the longest-serving Culture & Digital Economy Minister, is also an angel investor alongside Blomfield as well as Martin Villig from Bolt. 

The round was led by Iberis Capital on the equity side, and SmartLenders Asset Management on the debt side. Armilar Venture Partners, Mustard Seed Maze, Giant Ventures and Seedcamp also took part. 

The new round brings the company’s total funding to €44.7m. 

StudentFinance has managed over €15m worth of funding in just over two years. It plans to reach €800m in 3 years, through 200,000 borrowers.