As markets across the globe continue to struggle due to economic slide, the need to support people in the period of crisis becomes significant. To address this, London’s debt prevention platform SuperFi scored £900k pre-seed funding round to help people during the period of crisis. The round was led by UK seed fund Ascension and its impact fund, Fair By Design including Force Over Mass coupled with a number of prominent investors.
Founded in 2021, the subject startup is a fintech believed to be revolutionizing debt management by providing users with an overview of their debts, while analyzing their financial and personal circumstances, and then offering users access to the most suitable debt prevention tools and services.
The latest fund will be deployed to support authorization via the FCA’s innovation sandbox and launch partnerships with London boroughs. An initiative that will allow SuperFi to test and refine the platform; bringing debt prevention tools to Londoners for the first time, before it is rolled out across the UK.
Co-founder of SuperFi ‘Tom Barltrop’, said: “We believe that debt management should be proactive, not reactive. Our goal is to help millions of people struggling to pay their bills and credit commitments better manage their debt before it becomes a crisis. In doing so, we believe we can help British people during the cost of living crisis – saving businesses and society billions associated with problem debt.”
This is a significant step, noting the scale of the UK’s debt management challenge, according to research from StepChange, 18 million British adults are struggling to pay their monthly bills and credit commitments. These individuals aren’t yet in arrears, so they are not eligible for formal debt solutions. Collectively, they hold more than £70bn in unsecured debts.
As part of the startup’s attribute, the platform helps users stay on top of their monthly bills and credit commitments and out of problem debt, it also has the potential to save users £130m in debt repayment costs by 2028. In addition, the company has also received grant funding from the Greater London Authority as part of the Mayor of London’s Challenge LDN scheme to combat poverty. SuperFi scoring the said sum allows it to prototype and test its platform with Councils and Housing Associations across London.
‘Emma Steele’, Partner at Ascension, added: “We are thrilled to be supporting SuperFi in its mission to tackle the UK’s growing debt crisis and improve financial well-being for individuals and communities. With over £1.6 trillion in personal debt in the UK alone, the scale of the problem is massive, and SuperFi’s innovative platform is uniquely positioned to address it through a partner-based business model that remains on the consumers’ side as the business scales. We look forward to helping the team achieve their vision.”
The founders of SuperFi which met during an Antler residency in London are bringing together a wealth of expertise from banking and tech startup environments. However, it is also worth noting that the subject startup had previously received backing from Antler, the most active early-stage investor in Europe.
‘Ollie Purdue’, Partner at Antler, commented: “SuperFi represents a new generation of fintech startups building solutions designed to address the significant challenges facing consumers during the cost of living crisis. SuperFi will undoubtedly have a positive impact on society in the UK. We are delighted to have backed the SuperFi team from day zero and this funding round is a testament to their impressive traction and long-term growth potential.”
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