Maven Equity Finance, part of the ERDF-funded Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (“NPIF”), has invested £250,000 in Manchester start up RiskSmart.
RiskSmart is currently developing an integrated platform that will make risk management simpler for SMEs by utilising machine learning and Artificial Intelligence to leverage valuable data. Its platform and solutions simplify, centralise and digitalise risk management to increase confidence and business resilience.
RiskSmart was founded by Ryan Swann and Michael Aldred, both of whom have an extensive background in risk, having held senior positions in FinTech firms including serving a combined 30 years at Think Money, where Aldred was CEO. The business was set up in order to fill a gap in the market, with risk management becoming a key priority for SMEs while the majority of existing solutions focused on larger enterprise clients.
RiskSmart’s platform aims to offer SMEs a cost-effective, simple-to-deploy platform to manage risk, save time and add value. The Maven funding will support the business as it sets its sights on a soft launch to the UK’s six million-plus SMEs this summer. Maven’s investment in the early-stage start-up comes as part of a wider £1.05 million investment in the business.
Dean Cox, investment director at Maven, said: “This is an exciting investment for Maven and NPIF. More established providers of risk management focus on larger companies and are priced accordingly so there is a clear gap in the market for an ambitious business like RiskSmart to target the underserved SME segment.”
The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund project is supported financially by the European Union using funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020 and the European Investment Bank.
