SC Ventures, the fintech investment arm of UK banking group Standard Chartered, has made a strategic investment in London-based fintech start-up Algbra.

SC Ventures invests in Algbra

Founded in 2020 by Zeiad Idris and Fizel Nejabat and launched in 2022 after around 18 months of development, Algbra is a Sharia-compliant fintech authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as an Electronic Money Institution (EMI).

The start-up offers a money management app catering to ethically-minded consumers with features including carbon tracking and offsetting and financial wellbeing tools.

The company also provides its full-stack proprietary technology as a B2B Fintech-as-a-Service (FaaS) solution, enabling financial institutions to build their own digital banking offerings.

Algbra explains in a LinkedIn post that the new funding, the terms of which have not been disclosed, is earmarked to “accelerate the delivery” of its FaaS solution globally “and enhance our customer proposition in the UK”.

As part of the deal, Algbra has also partnered with SC Venture’s climate-focused savings platform, Shoal.

SC Ventures explains that Shoal “will leverage Algbra’s technology capabilities to distribute its products to UK retail customers whilst Algbra will incorporate Shoal as part of its ESG-centric B2B solutions globally”.

The companies state that the new partnership is underpinned by a common goal, as both Shoal and Algbra are B-Corp-certified firms looking to support sustainable finance and development.

The announcement follows last year’s news that SC Ventures and Japanese financial heavyweight SBI Holdings were coming together to launch a digital assets investment firm in the UAE.