Education Fintech lands $41 million in debt and equity

• StudentFinance has secured $41 million in debt and equity financing, with support from Tom Blomfield.
• The start-up gives people the financial means to graduate and change careers.
• Check out the 18-slide pitch deck StudentFinance used to raise the fresh funds.

A startup that aims to facilitate career mobility for people looking to graduate or change jobs has just raised $41 million in debt and equity funding.

StudentFinance allows users to access training and upskilling courses so that they can switch to new and in-demand industries, such as artificial intelligence, data and climate technology.

The Madrid-based startup works with education providers, which it evaluates on the basis of tuition, admissions and job outcomes, that offer these specific courses. It then builds a reasonable teaching plan for students who choose a relevant course via these institutions.

The goal is to remove the financial friction involved when switching industries, said co-founder and CEO Mariano Kostelec. “The model is very results-based,” he added. This means that students only pay back their school fees when they earn above a certain threshold after completing their education.

Choosing which courses to offer students is also decided on a macro level, Kostelec told Insider. “We model a lot on what the labor market needs.”

“We started with a focus on technology and digital sectors, and most of our courses are in development, data analytics and cyber security,” Kostelec said. “Now we see more courses in machine learning and VR.”

The start-up also sees a wider appeal in working with companies to enable employees to graduate in the sectors where there is a shortage of talent.

In addition to charging a fee to education providers it enlists on its platform, StudentFinance also makes its money through an interest margin it collects when students are employed.

Having managed over $15 million in private funding, the company claims that students receive an average 50% salary increase after completing the training courses.

Amid a tougher funding environment, the startup secured a $41 million Series A in debt and equity funding, bringing its total funds raised to $47.5 million. On the equity side, the round was backed by Portugal-based private equity and venture capital firm Iberis Capital, which previously backed AI translation startup Unbabel. On the debt side, Paris-based asset manager Smart Lenders Asset Management led the round, with additional investment backing from Monzo founder Tom Blomfield, Mustard Seed Maze, Giant Ventures and Seedcamp.

With the fresh funds, StudentFinance will ensure that it has a sustained runway as it expands into new geographic markets. After receiving regulatory approval from the Financial Conduct Authority, it will also increase its footprint in the UK, and start operations in Germany.

Check out the deck of 18 slides used to secure the fresh funds.