Written by Alex Bredeen
London fintech Monspire raises a £600,000 funding round led by Fuel Ventures to help small businesses predict cashflow needs
Firm also joins AWS’ Startup Loft Accelerator to boost growth
Who are Monspire?
Monspire is a tech platform that enables SME’s to access capital in the form of debt. It is a uniquely innovative technology that looks at risk on an affinity basis as opposed to a general basis. This enables more SMEs to access fairer and more appropriate terms. For the providers of capital, they are able to access a portfolio of better understood and proportionate risk and reward.
What will this £600,000 funding round enable them to do?
The cash boost will enable Monspire, founded by serial tech entrepreneurs Ben Gillen and Simon Draper, launch to market in April and rapidly onboard new businesses. The entrepreneurs are aiming to make Monspire the global cashflow management platform for small businesses, empowering small business owners to grow their businesses with confidence.
A Censuswide study of 500 small business owners commissioned by Monspire found that 67% of entrepreneurs believe running day-to-day finances ‘actively distracts’ them from running their business. More than 60% did not consider themselves knowledgeable in business finance when starting their company.
Meet the founders
Ben Gillen, Co-Founder, commented: “Most business owners don’t start their own firm with a desire to spend their time running a finance function. As our study found, it actually distracts them from building their business. With Monspire, we want to give business owners the confidence to grow knowing that their finances are taken care of.”
The Monspire platform enables small businesses to predict their cashflow needs through its forecasting tool, empowering them to spot funding gaps, while providing access to invoice financing to help plug gaps.
Gillen continued: “Cashflow gaps kill small businesses. We want to breathe new life into the space with a single view of their finances, allowing entrepreneurs and business owners to focus on what they do best.”
Monspire has also recently been selected to participate in the AWS Startup Loft Accelerator, an equity-free programme supporting early-stage startups in Europe, Middle East and Africa with technology, product development and go-to-market advice.
Tom Hibbard at Fuel Ventures, commented: “We are excited to help accelerate the growth of Monspire, a purpose-driven company seeking to solve a tangible problem for small businesses, who form the backbone of the UK economy. Ben and Simon have a proven track record of scaling successful tech firms and we are excited for the product to launch to market.”