Prestiamoci the only Italian startup having a license, as holding company, released by the Bank of Italy for the management of a online P2P lending platform, has raised €107k as part of a €450k capital increase from Digital Magics, the certified venture incubator of innovative startups listed at the AIM Italia segment of the Italian stock exchange, along with Italian and international investors. Thanks to the Prestiamoci web platform, investors can lend resources to private persons and companies in a very transparent way, with the professional skills in the credit management typic of the banking system.
Thanks to this funding, Prestiamoci will focus on the growth of the company, launching campaigns as well as marketing and communication activities to strengthen brand awareness and acquire new lenders and applicants.
The venture incubator has participated in this operation by investing EUR
107,000 continuing to support the innovative startup with the members of the Board of Prestiamoci and other investors, including both European and American private and institutional operators, experts in the field of P2P lending, and members of the Digital Magics Angel Network, who took part at the previous capital increase in October 2013, when Prestiamoci raised €550k from Digital Magics and a pool of private investors. As of today the total investment made by Digital Magics in Prestiamoci amounts to €297k, while the overall raised funds by Prestiamoci amount to €1M.
The Digital Magics Angel Network is a network of
over 100 private, institutional, industrial and financial individuals operating with Digital Magics in the selection, mentorship and investment in digital startups, offering content and services with high technological value.
over 100 private, institutional, industrial and financial individuals operating with Digital Magics in the selection, mentorship and investment in digital startups, offering content and services with high technological value.
After a period of revival and reorganization that was completed in the past few months, with this operation Prestiamoci will focus on the growth and development of its innovative and disruptive business model. The team of the startup of loans among private individuals is already working to implement communication plans and strategic marketing activities, to strengthen brand awareness and to increase the number of users who want to get a loan (applicants) and who want to invest money (lenders) on www.prestiamoci.it.
Federico Provinciali - who last year followed the startup as consultant for the reconstruction of the money lending and management system - enters the board of directors, by acquiring a stake in the company, and becoming Chief Risk Officer of Prestiamoci. Federico Provinciali has over 20 years job experience in the finance sector: he was Chief Financial Officer and Manager for the management and risk control at primary Italian and international banks such as Barclays, Bank Clarima and UniCredit.
"We are very proud that investors once more believed in our startup, which proceeds on its path of growth according to plans; lately we have also noticed a strong interest at national and international level in relation to social lending, "said Michele Novelli, Partner of Digital Magics and Managing Director of Prestiamoci," After a year of successful cooperation we welcome Federico Provinciali, who decided to join our board and to play an operational role in the company: further confirmation of the importance of the project and the strength and value of our team. "
"P2P lending is a great idea that allows all involved parties, lenders and applicants to have benefits thanks to the transparency and the ability to compare options: a fortunate situation that happens infrequently," says Federico Provinciali Chief Risk Officer and Board Member of Prestiamoci, "I decided to devote my energies to Prestiamoci because I believe that the model of social lending needs, in order to operate efficiently, a sophisticated ability to assess the risk profile of each applicant, assigning the right price of the loan. We have already done a lot in this direction and I'm going to contribute much more to bring Prestiamoci to excellence "
BUSINESS MODEL AND SUCCESS AT INTERNATIONAL LEVEL
Thanks to the web platform of Prestiamoci investors can lend capital to private persons or companies in a transparent manner with the professionalism in the management of the typical credit of the banking system. Lenders benefit from excellent yields by investing in one asset class only, while the applicants have higher affordable interest rates.
P2P lending is an innovative business model consolidated in the whole world: up today the operators in this sectors declare to have provided more than €4 billion, and in 2014 it is expected the first billion IPO of Lending Club, American leader, on which Google invested $125 million with a valuation around €1.6 billion (Source: Forbes October 2013). Lending among private persons was born in 2005 and actually are more than 30 the companies which operate in this sector, among the most famous are Lending Club, Prosper, Zopa, RateSetter, Funding Circle, Auxmoney, present in different countries such us USA, Cina, Germany, England, France, Spain and Italy.
Digital Magics is a certified venture incubator of innovative digital startups, which proposes contents and services of high technological value. Digital Magics is listed on AIM Italia, the Alternative Market of Capital dedicated to Italian small and medium enterprises with high growth potential, organized and managed by the Italian stock exchange. Digital Magics builds and develops internet startups by flanking the founders, investing own resources and providing acceleration services. Part of the talents and ideas, transforming them in successful disruptive businesses in the Italian and international digital economy. The incubator promotes the entrepreneurial culture and risk, thus contributing to the economic growth and the employment for the young people. Digital Magics offers services to support innovation, the birth and development of digital startups, and supports them in the search for new private and public investors, Italian and international, which will finance the next development stages. The Digital Magics model is unique in Italy and is based on the Digital Magics LAB: the team that identifies, analyzes and launches the new initiatives, providing to startups services of mentorship, financial, administrative, strategic, logistic, technological and of communication and marketing, apart from the support of business management able to accelerate the process growth of the company. Digital Magics has in its portfolio over 45 investments in startups. The venture incubator has made 6 exit, and only 4 write-offs. The incubator has invested to date approximately €13M, of which €5M from the exit. Currently, the average investment is around €300k.
Prestiamoci - prestiamoci.it
Is the leading platform of P2P lending in Italy. A brand of property of Agata S.p.A., the company registered to the bar of financial intermediaries. Authorized in 2009 from the Bank of Italy, Prestiamoci has the target to develop the market of lending between persons (P2P) that allows investors to lend money to privates and companies. Prestiamoci eases the supply of lending with the participation of one side to the financing.
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