A new partnership takes off: Our exciting new journey with iwoca
Get ready to blast off with some exciting news—we're over the moon to announce Laika has joined forces with iwoca, a lending company dedicated to helping small businesses grow and build their finances with their custom-built financial solutions. With our PR expertise and their mission of funding one million small businesses, we're excited about what we can accomplish together in the German market. But before we take off, let's get to know our new client a little better.
Meet iwoca: Pioneers in lending through advanced technology
For the past eleven years, iwoca has rapidly grown from a start-up to one of Europe's fastest-growing business lenders, boasting a team of over 400 employees located in London and Frankfurt. Their custom-built lending service was created specifically to address the inadequate support given by big banks to small business owners.
Co-founders James Dear and Christoph Rieche, both finance experts, left their jobs to form iwoca with the goal of providing efficient financial support and a great experience to small business owners through advanced technology. They offer loans ranging from £1,000 to £500,000 (~€1135 to ~€568,000), which can be used, among other things, to purchase new inventory, invest in growth plans, or simply maintain cash flow. Although they provide loans to clients, they do not consider themselves a bank, but rather work with several banks, including Close Brothers Business Finance. Since 2012, they have provided funding to over 50,000 businesses, ranging from cafés to car dealers, salons to legal professionals. But they're just getting started—their mission to fund one million small businesses is still underway!
iwoca states: “At iwoca, we believe finance should feel like a superpower, not a headache. That’s why our founders, Chris and James, decided to create a solution, custom-built for small businesses. One that strips out the hassle, gets to know what each business needs, and looks for opportunities rather than problems. One that provides access to finance where and when your business needs it. Our partner integrations and our lending API mean we can provide access to finance where and when small businesses need it. Our award-winning credit risk engine helps us make faster, more accurate credit decisions built around the performance of the business.”
Bracing for fintech impact
With Laika’s expertise with other fintech companies such as Mooncascade, orderbird, and Monkee, Laika aims to capitalize on their experience to achieve some amazing results with iwoca. With the external help of Nicole Breforth, our freelance PR consultant partner (aka space ally), the Laika Space Dogs wasted no time in establishing the strategy, with a focus on the Fintech, Finance & Banking, and E-commerce industries in the DACH region. We've already made waves in the media, scoring coverage for iwoca such as in Börsen-Zeitung, Startbase, Deutsche Startups, Payment & Banking and United Networker. But that's just the beginning—we're ready to take things to the next level and see what kind of cosmic impact we can make together.
With Laika's expertise in the fintech industry in the DACH media and iwoca's dedication to supporting small businesses, this partnership is bound to be successful. We can't wait to see what incredible accomplishments we'll achieve together. Let's buckle up and get ready for an exciting journey!