Spotlight on Mike Mawbey, Portfolio Risk Manager
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Belfast-based tech company, Polyloop has secured first round funding of £1.2m after gaining its first investment through Creative UK late last year. The round was one of the highest valuation seeds out of Northern Ireland in the last 12 months and sees the business enter its next growth phase. Co-founders Ralf Alwani and Jak Spencer will now look to scale their operation across the UK, Europe and the US with the target of reaching £16m annual recurring revenue in the next three years.
The software solution offered by Polyloop enables public sector bodies to track the impact of their spending in real-time for social good. The business was launched by Forbes 30 under 30 Alumnus Ralf, and Jak, in response to frustrations at the way impact has been measured. They have worked with government departments in the UK, EU and US on the launch of its minimum viable product and BETA testing.
Creative UK Investment Manager, Gab Nardo who supported Polyloop to receive investment from the Creative Growth Finance fund in November 2022 said:
“The early-stage funding environment has changed dramatically across the past 3 quarters. Investors have raised the level of scrutiny significantly and are now only backing those opportunities upheld by true strong fundamentals. The success of this fundraise, at the terms it attracted, is a clear testament to the quality of team and product – the very same which drew us to the investment last year. Great seeing this ambitious plan start to unfold.”
Chief Executive Ralf Alwani said there is real inconsistency in the way different government bodies evaluate respective projects, with much of the monitoring and measurement done through basic spreadsheets and PDF documents.
He said: “Building on our reputation of working internationally on creative interventions with public bodies, Polyloop will be global from the outset, looking to transform the way governments tackle projects and manage outcomes.
“Many civil servants work hard, day and night, to do great work. We want to highlight that and build up a picture through our tracking suite that allows them to make pivotal decisions in real-time based on data-driven evidence. Ultimately, this will allow our clients to refine and act on better-connected social impact projects from a local to global level.”
Dr Jak Spencer, Chief Impact Officer, said he and Ralf, who met at the Royal College of Art, were delighted with the fundraiser, which demonstrated the widespread belief that a tool like Polyloop is necessary in today’s climate.
He said: “To complete one of the highest seed funding rounds in Northern Ireland in the past 12 months is testament to the sheer potential of the Polyloop platform in transforming the way public sector bodies measure and report on spending.
“We will now look to grow our team, which will enable us to offer a wider range of features and expand into even more parts of the world.”
Early adopters include the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB) and NHS Automation Accelerator.
The round is made up of the first Creative UK investment to Northern Ireland, as well as angel investors from the UK and US, including the former group chief executive of Civica as well as seed investments from venture capitalists.
For media enquiries about Polyloop, please contact Jenny Brookfield (jenny@vivapr.co.uk) or Jac Jordan (jac@vivapr.co.uk) at Viva on 01706 21430.
