Peer-to-peer lender Linked Finance has unveiled its new-look website – the design for which was, appropriately enough, crowdsourced.

The company commissioned an international competition to find a web designer for the Linked Finance site, which attracted 50 submissions from ten countries.

The crowdsourced component of the website redesign took two weeks from tender to selection. Linked Finance said that it formed part of a larger 10-month project involving a complete rebranding and technical redevelopment of company’s online lending platform, following a €2.5m investment secured last year from Frontline Ventures for the expansion of its IT platform and employee base.

Launched in March 2013, Linked Finance has a current lender base of over 11,000 people, bringing together Irish SMEs and members of the public who are looking to lend to businesses at competitive interest rates.

The company has facilitated loans for over 350 Irish businesses and recently the €10m milestone in new funds available for loans through its online platform.

In Association with

Commenting on the launch of the new-look website, Peter O’Mahony, CEO of Linked Finance, said: “We’re delighted with the results of the competition and the new design of our website. The approach used is very much in line with Linked Finance’s own peer-to-peer model and has proved a very efficient and highly cost-effective way to tap into an enormous pool of design talent.

“It’s also allowed us to avoid some of the constraints of traditional design routes, which can be time-consuming. It’s an approach we’d recommend to any company looking to revamp their online presence.”