Koyo secures £3.8m in seed investment led by Forward Partners to launch its online lending platform.
The funding round was led by Forward Partners with participation from Seedcamp and prominent angel investors.
Koyo is a consumer online lender that utilizes Open Banking to provide transparent and competitively priced loans. The company focuses on serving individuals who are new to credit or new to the UK.
Koyo has secured £3.8m in a seed funding round led by Forward Partners to launch its online lending platform. The financing also saw participation from Seedcamp, alongside high profile angel investors Christian Faes and Charlie Delingpole. The capital will support the company as it introduces its Open Banking model to the UK market, targeting millions of consumers who currently lack sufficient credit data for traditional borrowing options.
Founded in 2018 by Thomas Olszewski, Koyo aims to eliminate expensive borrowing fees for individuals with thin credit files by mandating Open Banking data for all applications. The firm has assembled an experienced leadership team drawing from established financial technology and lending institutions.
From the founder
"When I moved to the UK from the USA my credit history did not come with me. This made getting a credit card or loan difficult, if not impossible. I realised this is a problem that affected millions of people who are new to the country, but also people who have not built a credit history in the UK more generally. Koyo was built to give people who have historically been taken advantage of, an opportunity to access credit at a competitive rate and build credit history. The opportunity is further evidenced by a seasoned management team which includes Kevin Allen (former CRO of RateSetter) and Guy Evans (former CTO of LendInvest)."
Thomas Olszewski
Founder & CEO at Koyo
