London-based StepLadder ramps up its effort to help ‘generation rent’ own their first home | EU-Startups
Summary
London-based StepLadder, a collaborative deposit raising platform, is set to ramp its support to help tens of thousands of people struggling to buy their first homes. StepLadder will work with BBVA and Anthemis inside their joint venture studio on an innovative approach to bringing a trusted model of collaborative finance into a digital platform. Using a financial model known as a ‘Rotating Credit and Savings Association’ (ROSCA) – popular in many nations worldwide – StepLadder works by placing its members into small groups called ‘circles’. The contributions will then be collected into a central pot, before being awarded to one of the circle’s members by random draw, with this being handled by a computer algorithm to ensure absolute impartiality. “We’ve seen their commitment to solving this problem up close and we know that our combined efforts will dramatically change the landscape for savings and homeownership in a major way in a short amount of time.”