StudentFinance secures £3.7m seed investment to fund international expansion
The seed round was co-led by Giant Ventures and Armilar Venture Partners to support expansion into the UK and Europe.
StudentFinance operates a career mobility platform that provides flexible financing and AI-driven skills mapping to help individuals access vocational training. The company connects learners with education providers across Europe to bridge critical employment gaps.
StudentFinance has secured £3.7m in seed funding to expand its income share agreement platform into the UK and other European markets. The investment was co-led by Giant Ventures and Armilar Venture Partners, with participation from Seedcamp, Mustard Seed Maze, Sabadell Venture Capital, and various angel investors.
The company provides data and technology infrastructure that allows education providers to offer Income Share Agreements, shifting the financial risk away from students. The fresh capital will be directed towards tripling the size of the team by hiring specialists across product, data, engineering, design, and operations.
Launched in early 2020, the fintech firm has partnered with more than 35 education providers across Europe. The business aims to reach €30m in ISAs and scale operations internationally as demand for workforce reskilling accelerates.
From the founder
"We are incredibly excited to have secured such high calibre investors and to have received the continued support of our existing investors, who all believe in our mission of removing barriers to education and empowering economic mobility. With StudentFinance, it takes an average of just four months for reskilled students to find more lucrative employment compared to the UK market average, where the majority of graduates only find employment up to 15 months on from completing their studies. The pandemic has only reinforced the need for solutions that enable people to access quality education to secure employment opportunities and we are making it a reality."
Mariano Kostelec
cofounder and CEO at StudentFinance
Investor perspective
"The form and funding of education needs to evolve for the modern world. Education should not leave students burdened with debt. 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."
Cameron Mclain
Managing Partner of Giant Ventures, Giant Ventures
Use of funds
- 01Grow the team
- 02Expand into international markets
Investors
Cameron Mclain
Giant Ventures
Duarte Mineiro
Armilar Venture Partners
Sia Houchangnia
Seedcamp
Mustard Seed Maze
Sabadell Venture Capital
Firestartr
Categories
About the company
StudentFinance
StudentFinance provides education financing and career mobility solutions for professional upskilling.