Habacus, an innovative SME and integrated ecosystem of services dedicated to students, announces that it has closed a EUR 5 million investment round led by P101 SGR.
Through a model that combines innovation and sustainability, Habacus offers educational guidance, skills certification and information validation, key elements for accessing student loans, as well as housing solutions and job placement opportunities, creating a complete ecosystem for the personal and professional development of its community that Habacus expects to include 100,000 students by 2026.
P101 is the lead investor in the operation with a total investment of €4 million made through the Programma 103 and Azimut Eltif Venture Capital P103 funds. This investment brings to 11 the number of companies in which Programma 103 has invested in less than two years, i.e. since the start of operations of this fund, and is consistent with P101’s mission to invest in innovative companies with high growth potential capable of promoting, among other things, social characteristics in line with SFDR standards.
CDP Venture Capital participates in the transaction through the Fondo Rilancio Startup, with a subscription of EUR 1 million and the simultaneous conversion of an equity financial instrument of the same amount subscribed in 2022, thus strengthening support for Habacus’ growth.
Founded in 2017 by Paolo Cuniberti, Habacus facilitates dialogue between students, educational institutions, financial operators and companies, promoting personal and professional growth paths. Today, the company counts major groups of the national banking and industrial system in its client portfolio.
With the transaction announced today, Habacus will invest in technological development, in particular in the growth of a proprietary algorithmic base based on artificial intelligence patterns, with the aim of evolving into a human-capital intelligence platform capable of assisting and enhancing students’ growth paths, training and professional development opportunities, areas of extreme interest to both banking institutions and the corporate industrial system. Habacus will therefore accelerate its growth path by expanding the range of services offered also in the B2B sphere, thus scaling up the company’s market capacity.
With EUR 220 million of student loans disbursed in the first nine months of 2024 (source: Facile.it and Prestiti.it), the Italian market shows great growth potential compared to more mature countries such as Germany and France. Habacus will continue to be active in this market in supporting the disbursement of student loans, a sector that plays a crucial role in securing university education opportunities. A tangible example of Habacus’ positive impact is the reduction of the university drop-out rate: while nationally 17% of students do not complete their first year of studies (Istat), within the Habacus student community this rate drops dramatically to 0.8%, demonstrating the effectiveness of a targeted and structured approach.
Paolo Cuniberti, founder and CEO of Habacus, says in a note: ‘Today’s investment represents a strategic accelerator for Habacus, consolidating its role as a privileged interlocutor between education, finance and the labour market. Through certification, we provide a key tool to ensure transparency and accountability, fostering the efficient allocation of human capital and financial resources. Our goal is to build an integrated ecosystem that supports students on their path to growth, contributing to strengthening the competitiveness and economic resilience of the country system.”
“I am particularly happy to be able to accompany the new phase of development, both technological and commercial, of Habacus, one of the first enablers of finance to support student activities and an Italian pioneer in the student financing segment, a market with an important social impact that in our country is still far from the international standards of countries such as the US, the UK, France and Germany,” adds Andrea Di Camillo, managing partner of P101. Investing in Habacus means supporting the development of this market and the edutech sector, but also investing in human capital and the future of talent: we are confident that Habacus’ technological and data-driven approach will enable more and more deserving students to access high-level education and express their full potential. We are therefore looking forward to supporting Habacus on the path that will lead it to reach new important goals.
“We have been alongside Habacus since 2022 and are now particularly proud of this further injection of confidence that gives us the opportunity to accompany the company in a further step of growth,” comments Caterina Siclari, senior partner and head of Fondo Rilancio at CDP Venture Capital. “Making academic education more accessible and inclusive can help bring a great impact in the personal and professional growth of thousands of students, and Habacus’ platform already has numerous successful collaborations with financial institutions under its belt. (photo by javier trueba on Unsplash)
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