Tembo Money, a London-based FinTech startup, closed £ 2.5m in funding led by Aviva after its official launch in June 2021.
The round also saw participation from Fairby Design, the venture fund was managed by Ascension Ventures and supported by Nationwide, Big Society Capital and Joseph Rowntree.
The funds will help Tembo optimise its technology and drive the expansion of its offering as the company continues to focus on its mission to address the ‘poverty premium’ and help millions of prospective homeowners buy their first property sooner.
Tempo co-founder and CEO Richard Dana said, “Our mission is to help families change this mindset and change the flow of wealth gaps between generations by providing first-time buyers with a quick and affordable way to increase deposits. I owe it. This funding allows us to do that. We are very pleased to have major financial and technology players such as Aviva and Fair by Design join us on this journey.”
Tembo’s product offering comprises a range of specialist mortgages from leading lenders in the UK. These allow first-time buyers to lean on loved ones and help them climb onto the property ladder, without requiring their families to have a cash lump sum. Tempo’s family lending products – Income Boost and Deposit Boost allow first-time buyers to lean on loved ones to help them buy the property without requiring their families to have a cash lump sum.
Deposit Boosts allow a willing family member to unlock money from their existing property, using that capital to top up the first-time buyer’s deposit or create one from scratch. Income Boosts allow a family member to allocate some of their income to the homebuyer’s mortgage application in order to increase their borrowing potential.
As per the company, over 70% of its users to date wouldn’t have been able to buy without these products. On average, they have saved £14,000 in interest charges with Tembo.
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