StudentFinance secured €4.5 million in a seed round co-led by Giant Ventures and Armilar Venture Partners.

StudentFinance, a Madrid, Spain-based startup working on a student recruitment platform based on ISA (income share agreement), announced the completion of a €4.5 million ($5.5M) seed funding round.

The money was raised from a range of investors co-led by Giant Ventures and Armilar Venture Partners, together with existing shareholders Mustard Seed Maze, Seedcamp, and Sabadell Venture Capital.

They were joined by angel investors including Victoria van Lennep (founder of Lendable), Martin Villig (founder of Bolt), Ed Vaizey (former Culture & Digital Economy Minister UK), Firestartr (UK-based early-stage VC syndicate), and Serge Chiaramonte (UK fintech investor).

Proceeds will be used as the company plans launching in the UK and additional European markets in the coming months.

StudentFinance, founded in 2019 by Mariano Kostelec, Marta Palmeiro, Sergio Pereia and Miguel Santo, partners with providers of ‘in-demand’ skills, in order to finance their students with Income Share Agreements. ISAs offer a model through which students don’t pay anything upfront, but a percentage of their income after landing a job with a salary level over a certain amount. This ISA model is disrupting current education financing models, offering students an alternative to traditional debt.

The company says it works with more than 35 education providers across Europe and manages over €5 million in ISAs.

StudentFinance previously raised €1.15M in a financing round led by Seedcamp in 2019.