A new peer to peer lending business is looking to raise €2m in equity investment under the terms of the Employment and Investment Incentive Scheme to set up a personal lending platform.
Initiative Ireland is a Wicklow company which says its system will connect everyday people, empowering them to borrow and lend money direct to each other, at a fair, risk-based price — very much the personal equivalent of P2P business lending, which has grown recently into a substantial force.
Once launched, Initiative Ireland will enable consumers to borrow and lend money to each other using its online lending platform. The company will perform credit assessments, apply credit scores to applications and facilitate the funding of each loan by multiple lenders, and will manage all approved loans.
Using risk-based pricing models, it will offer favourable rates to borrowers, with the best rates offered to those applicants who secure the best credit scores. The company says that this should attract and high quality borrowers for its personal lenders, balancing risks and rewards.
Initiative Ireland has recognition from Enterprise Ireland as a high potential start-up, and jobs minister Mary Mitchell O’Connor welcomed their launch of the funding drive.
In Association with
The minister said: “Initiative Ireland are working to bring impactful innovations to the market at home and abroad. I welcome Initiative Ireland’s peer-to-peer lending platform which will create 25 jobs, and I wish the team the very best for a successful future.”
The company aims to offer lenders indicative returns of 5% to 7% per annum, with savings of 20% to 30% on the cost of loans as the incentive for borrowers.
CEO Padraig W. Rushe said: “We’re combining business and technology innovations which have worked well in other markets, to create something sustainable and tailored to the Irish market. We believe we can make a positive difference to people’s lives, by giving them better options when it comes to borrowing money — or putting their own money to work.”
Photo: Padraig M. Rushe (left) and Padraig W. Rushe. (Pic: Maxwells)
