Element Ventures announces $130m fund for B2B FinTech enterprises

By Gaia Lamperti

Element Ventures, one of Europe’s leading B2B fintech-focused venture capital firms, has announced a US$130 million fund for tomorrow’s fintech leaders in the UK and EU. The firm, which is backed by an LP base and network of over 30 world-class founders and executives from across the financial sector, is seeing a substantial opportunity in the financial enterprise technology business.

With the UK GDP upgraded and Europe’s start-up scene booming, venture capitalists are eyeing the fintech sector’s acceleration across the continent which, according to Dealroom data, has raised US$12.3 billion in 2021. Yet, the space is often difficult to access and highly competitive. For this reason, Element Venture’s fund will specifically address the needs of the B2B fintech industry, supporting the new generation of entrepreneurs entering the ecosystem.

“B2B fintech is one of the most exciting opportunities in the tech industry, with incumbents facing huge challenges to digitise and talented entrepreneurs ready to compete,” Michael McFadgen, Partner and Co-Founder at Element Ventures, commented. “We’ve already backed some incredible businesses and we’re looking forward to discovering the next-generation entrepreneurs that are rising to this challenge.”

Element Ventures’ investment strategy focuses on a small number of companies every year to ensure it can offer full support to its portfolio companies, providing knowledge and capital to empower entrepreneurs to create world-changing businesses. “We understand the journey these companies need to navigate to be successful,” Spencer Lake, Partner at Element Ventures and HSBC’s former Vice Chairman of Global Banking and Markets, explained. “So, we’re connecting founders with the capital and expertise they need to build the financial enterprise technology of tomorrow, giving the entrepreneurs access to this brilliant platform.”

In total, Element Ventures’ portfolio boasts 15 companies at both Series A and Series B stages spanning across payments, insurtech, asset management and banking-as-a-service. To date, the venture capital has backed B2B fintech firms across the UK and Europe, among which the embedded insurance platform Hepster, B2B payment network Billhop, cryptocurrency recovery service Coincover and Minna, the subscription management platform backed by Lloyds Banking Group, Swedbank and ING.

Minna Technologies CEO and Co-Founder Joakim Sjöblom said: “We were delighted to bring Element on as an investor for our Series B due to their substantial knowledge and deep connections right across the industry. With Element’s help, we’re ensuring that more banks can benefit from Minna’s subscription management solutions to reduce their operational cost and bring financial health to their retail customers.”

While the fund is UK-based, leading geography for B2B fintech, and has been mostly focusing on the European continent so far, it has a global mandate. Element Ventures investors and board members include founders and financial leaders coming from some of the most respected firms in the space like ICAP/NEX Group, ULlink, SunGar, Fenergo, and Isomer Capital, Europe’s leading institutional VC Fund of Funds.