Plend - the social lending marketplace
by Startacus Admin
The lowdown on Plend, the London-based fintech that's on a mission to end the hardship caused by financial exclusion so people are not held back by their credit history
Financial exclusion is a growing issue where people are, as the term suggests, excluded from financial services and can access nothing more than a basic bank account. Financial insecurity affects more than 13 million people in the UK alone, with 5.8 million essentially invisible to the financial system, according to the Financial Inclusion Commission. This is a dangerous situation, ripe for cascading debt that people might never get out from under, and we need someone who will look out for those people. To perhaps even turn the current credit-score-based lending system on its head.
London-based fintech startup Plend is such a someone. They say that they are “on a mission to offer affordable loans to the 13 million people in the UK who are vulnerable to rip-off rates and financial hardship because of a flawed credit scoring system”.
Rather than using a credit score, the startup uses open banking to securely access an applicant’s bank account to understand their unique financial situation and their behaviour in order to make more insightful and informed lending decisions personalised to that person, rather than based on a credit score. As an investor, you can directly back individuals, lending through Plend to help make a difference to the lives of those 13 million people and be a part of making money lending a more ethical and humane endeavour.
In September, Plend announced that it had secured £700k in funding in a round led by Tomahawk, and Ascension, with participation from other investors such as Haatch and NBS Ventures. The consumer lending market is worth about £24 billion, and a startup moving into that space in order to bring a fairer system to people and stop them from being exploited or completely ignored is in a very good position to completely change the lending system.
Subscribe to our newsletter
If you would like to receive our startup themed newsletter, full of the latest startup opportunities, events, news, stories, tips and advice, then sign up here.
.png)
WeWALK, RNIB, and ICL consortium secures UKRI funding to improve mobility for visually impaired and elderly.
The impact of standards, ethics and conduct on business success and profits - Work.Life has some interesting insights...
.png)
The lowdown on Space32 - the startup that wants to help hybrid-working businesses find the working space and solution that's right for them.
.png)
Global Tech for Good initiative seeks innovative startups and scaleups that are creating positive social impact and enhancing people's lives through tech.
The lowdown on Bidnamic, the startup that's combining advance machine learning with human expertise to help retailers to maximise revenue and profitability from Google Shopping.
Innovative Czech fintech startup 4Trans raises investment to expand first of its type AI driven factoring services across Europe.
Edinburgh-based life science company Cytomos secures funding to support further development of its innovative cell analysis tech.
Ethical Equity and Streets Consulting join forces to deliver Founder Workshop to help close the inequality gap in startup to scaleup funding.
Fancy being featured in this year’s SmallBiz100, which showcases the best of Britain’s vibrant small business community? There's just a couple of days left to do just that!
Screenloop secures major investment to support further development of its AI-driven recruitment platform that helps companies build the best teams and removes unconscious bias.
Published on: 23rd September 2021
If you would like to enable commenting via your Startacus account, please enable Disqus functionality in your Account Settings.
- Assistive technology innovators and partners awarded £1.7m project funding 1st Jul 2022 WeWALK, RNIB, and ICL consortium secures UKRI funding to improve mobility for visually impaired and elderly.
- How the pandemic affected each industry 27th Jun 2022 New research from School of Marketing reveals the impact that Covid-19 has had on key business sectors in the UK.
- The Finalists of DBACE 2022 are revealed 21st Jun 2022 The lowdown on the innovative young visionaries that are in the running for this year's Deutsche Bank Awards for Creative Entrepreneurs.
- OKAPI: Orbits raises €5.5m for Breakthrough Space Traffic Management Software 13th Jun 2022 Innovative German SaaS startup OKAPI:Orbits secures investment to support its mission of securing efficient and safe operations in space.
