An East London based referral and advocate marketing platform has secured a £500,000 loan from the Greater London Investment Fund (GLIF) to expand its operations and create 6 new employment opportunities. 

The funding will enable Buyapowa to strengthen its team, helping them to achieve their growth plan over the next three years. The company will also be expanding its product offering whilst exploring more partnership campaigns.

Headquartered in London, Buyapowa also operates in France, Germany, Spain and Canada and was established in March 2011. The company’s ambition is to become the global platform leader in referral marketing, enabling enterprises to operate numerous “refer-a-friend” programmes. These employee referral solutions and customer loyalty schemes allow vouchers or cash rewards to be earned by a client’s customers and their friends and is one of the most powerful ways to acquire new customers.

Gideon Lask, CEO and Co-Founder of Buyapowa, commented: “We provide a white label platform to clients in 27 different countries spanning 23 languages. Our platform is used by innovative companies including Vodafone, BT, T-Mobile, First Direct & British Gas and enables them to focus on their customer-get-customer and invite-a-friend campaigns. The funding has come at an exciting time for the business as we strengthen the team which gives us the resources to take us to the next level.”

Marco Cerrone, Investment Manager for The FSE Group, which manages the £55 million GLIF debt fund on behalf of Funding London, added: “We were impressed with Buyapowa’s platform and their successful track record. Buyapowa boasts an impressive client list which spans over 100 enterprises incorporating leading brands and retailers. The platform allows clients to equip and incentivise their customers, through the power of word-of-mouth marketing. The business is going from strength to strength, and we are delighted to be supporting them on their journey.”

Maggie Rodriguez-Piza, CEO at Funding London, adds: “Buyapowa has an impressive track record under their belt. Gideon and his team have built an excellent product that delivers great value to its customers. We are thrilled that the capital provided by GLIF will help them expand the team and unlock further growth in the UK and other international markets.”

GLIF is a £100m initiative to help address the SME finance gap in Greater London, promoting economic growth through enterprise and an inclusive and sustainable economy. £55m of debt funding is available, via loans between £100,000 and £1m, to early-stage and established SMEs looking to scale-up and realise their growth ambitions. GLIF is financed through the European Investment Bank (EIB), European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), London Waste & recycling Board (LWARB) and Funding London’s Legacies.