What is the history of Bondora?

Established in 2008, Bondora has celebrated incredible highs and milestones throughout the years. Here are some highlights of Bondora over the years:

2021

Released an all-new Go & Grow app.

A second office was opened in Tartu.

Investors have received over €60 million in returns.

In September, we set a new record of €2.3 million recovered in missed payments.

Over €500M invested in total.

Our Instagram account got over 10K followers.

We celebrated our 4th year of profitability.

More than 100 Superheroes are working at Bondora, and they are from 21 different countries across the globe.

2020

Bondora celebrates its 3rd consecutive year of profitability.

Go & Grow celebrates its 2nd birthday with over 86 000 investors and €8.9M in returns.

Revamped our Tallinn HQ

Bondora won a gold Family Friendly Employer reward, the highest honor the Ministry of Social Affairs can give.

2019

Over €250M total originations

Bondora was a National Winner in the 2019 European Business Awards—one of the most prestigious titles a company can receive. 

The number of investors increased by 50% in one year, totaling over 75,000.

Bondora becomes available in 24 European languages, giving more EU citizens access to its services and products.

Groundbreaking “Invest like a superhero” ad released to the world.

2018

For its second year in a row, Bondora remains financially profitable.

We launched Go & Grow, which quickly became our most popular product.

More than 50,000 total investors joined Bondora.

2017

Portfolio Pro is launched.

Bondora celebrates Over €100M total loan originations.

In a huge milestone, 2016 was the first year Bondora had a financially profitable year. 

2016

Bondora has more than €50M of loan originations.

Roll out the second version of our scorecards and risk-based pricing, increasing the performance of Finnish and Spanish models. 

Open the API to all investors, making Bondora the first marketplace in Europe with a public API. 

Licensed as a credit provider by the Estonian Financial Supervision Authority, the primary regulatory body in Estonia, governing and overseeing all financial service providers.

Bondora’s balance sheet model is extended, with credit risk partially maintained on the balance sheet. 

Roll out an update to pricing models designed to take account of adverse trends in the global business and economic climate. 

Split out and shift the (i) debt-servicing activities to Servicer and (ii) loan marketplace activities to Capital to make different activities legally and financially self-sustainable. 

2015

The rollout of the scorecard and risk-based pricing, with the latter replacing auction bidding-based interest-rate setting. 

Raised €4.5 million Series A round, led by Valinor Management LLC, a €3.5 billion, US-based private investment firm, was an early backer of Lending Club. 

We are authorized as a consumer credit provider by the State Administrative Agency of Southern Finland to provide consumer credit in Finland. 

Bondora begins originating loans using its balance sheet to comply with consumer credit legislation across the three markets where it operates. 

Receives runner-up award for “Alternative Finance Platform of the Year (EU) 2015” from AltFi. 

2014

Raised €1.3 million seed round, led by Global Founders Capital, a private investment vehicle of the Rocket Internet founders. 

The UK Financial Conduct Authority grants Bondora an interim license. 

The first version of Bondora’s fraud detection process was implemented. 

Winner of the “Alternative Finance Platform of the Year (EU)” and “P2P Consumer Platform of the Year (EU)” awards from AltFi, the world’s leading news site for the alternative finance space, which includes crowdfunding, P2P lending, marketplace lending, and invoice funding. 

2013 

We launched loan products in Finland and Spain, making Bondora the first marketplace providing credit seamlessly across multiple countries.  

2012 

Loan marketplace opened to retail investors across Europe, making Bondora the world’s first cross-border lending platform. 

2011 

Winner of the “Best Estonian E-service of 2011” award and a quarterfinalist at the World Summit Awards. 

2009 

Bondora establishes the first Nordic marketplace lending platform. 

2008 

Bondora is founded, and the dream begins!

Check out this video for an in-depth overview of the history and inner workings of Bondora: