SFC Capital and FINTECH Circle are partnering to find the next top 10-20 fintech startups or scaleups. SFC Capital has assigned £1.5m in funds which will be distributed among the selected startups. The final list of startups will be revealed by mid-April 2022.
Candidates must be UK-based eligible for the UK Government’s Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS). The scheme is designed to help companies raise money at the start of their growth journey by offering tax reliefs to individual investors who can buy new shares in a company founded less than two years ago. FINTECH Circle and SFC Capital are looking for solutions to the real and burning problems across financial services that are yet to be solved. Judges will be looking at the founding teams’ vision, previous experience, and unique capabilities to execute the company’s business plans.
Companies that wish to apply have until the 30th of January to submit their application via the FINTECH Circle website.
SFC Capital is the UK’s leading SEIS investor and seed-stage investor. Founded in 2012 SFC Capital combines an angel syndicate with its own funds to provide investors with diversified exposure to SEIS- and EIS-qualifying businesses. Based in London but active across the UK, SFC Capital has a track record of backing high-growth businesses in parts of the UK where access to early-stage equity capital is often scarce. SFC is committed to promoting investment into startups with diverse founders, with 40% of SFC’s portfolio in the last 12 months being into companies with female founders or leaders. SFC Capital is one of the most active backers of UK Fintech startups, with a portfolio including Onfido, MyFutureNow (acquired by Legal & General), Algbra, Penny, Ember, Tapoly, Filechain and many more.
FINTECH Circle is the number one community for fintech startups and scaleups globally reaching an audience of over 130,000. FINTECH Circle’s mission is to create the world’s leading fintech ecosystem and a platform connecting finance professionals, investors and entrepreneurs. FINTECH Circle supports businesses and entrepreneurs in their growth journey by helping them raise funding, providing access to events worldwide as well as bespoke masterclasses and scaleup programmes. FINTECH Circle has published several educational books - including The FINTECH Book, The WEALTHTECH Book, The INSURTECH Book, The PAYTECH Book, The AI Book, The LEGALTECH Book and FinTech for Dummies, all published by Wiley - and has also partnered with ITN Productions to produce film documentaries such as Responsible Fintech.
Stephen Page, SFC Capital Chief Operating Officer: “There is no better partner than FINTECH Circle to find the next cohort of leading UK fintech startups. We have worked with FINTECH Circle in the past and it has always been a pleasant and successful experience. Finding the future of fintech and investing in impressive startups are the types of things SFC Capital lives and breathes for, so we could not be more excited about this new adventure.
Susanne Chishti, FINTECH Circle CEO & Founder: "We are very excited to be working with SFC Capital again to invest into the best UK fintech startups. The fintech sector has been booming over the last years and we have seen lots of innovation across various fintech sub-sectors. The future of finance is driven by tech innovation and FINTECH Circle is at the center of the global ecosystem with our fintech thought-leadership reaching our 130,000 FINTECH Circle community. We are delighted to help the best fintech entrepreneurs with £1.5 million startup capital to be deployed by the end of March 2022."
