Mifundo, a fintech startup founded by the former CEO of Estonian digital bank Bigbank, has raised €1.2 million in pre-seed funding to build a platform that will enable people to apply for loans from banks across the European Union.
Working with with scientists from the University of Tartu, the company is creating an AI-based platform that treats the European Union as a single credit market.
Mifundo founder and CEO Kaido Saar says: "Our vision is to turn the entire European Union into one credit market. We become a bridge between people and banks. With the support of the included investment, the company will continue to fulfill its vision. We can develop the product and bring it to the market.”
The pre-seed funding was led by Opus11 VC whose core team is formed by the people from Trigon Capital and founders of Fractory. Angel investors include Jüri Laur from LHV Bank and Kaido Kepp from Iizi Kindlustusmaakler. The project has also been supported by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund and EAS.
Says Sar: "Mifundo's service solves several problems at once. Firstly, people will have the opportunity to communicate with banks across Europe, regardless of where they geographically live. Also the large difference in interest rates between countries has created a very unequal situation for people, depending on their nationality. For example, if the average consumer loan interest rate in Estonia today is 12%, in Finland it is twice as low and remains on average at 6%, while in Sweden it is less than 4% and in Luxembourg even 2%. Secondly, banks will have the opportunity to enter new markets and test the business model without making large investments."