Coverflex, the Portuguese startup on a mission to enhance employee benefits, has just secured €15 million in new investment. The HRtech startup, which has established quickly established itself as a key player in the market, is now embarking on an Italian launch.
Across the world, attitudes towards work have been changing. After decades of the corporate grind, we are seeing a resurgence of the pursuit of work-life balance, and its creating better outcomes for staff and businesses alike. In order to stay competitive and forward-thinking, companies of all sizes now need to make sure they are promoting wellbeing, offering attractive perks and benefits and being flexible to employee needs.
As a result of this shift, we are seeing different HRtech solutions grow. They are helping teams navigate workplace happiness and team cohesion, and its a market that’s growing – reported to be worth €200 billion, with Europe representing more than 40%. However, whilst the benefits and wellbeing market is growing, it seems that engagement is lagging behind, and companies are wasting millions on one-size-fits-all packages that fail to address individual employee needs.
This is what Coverflex want to change. The startup has just bagged new funding and is planning market expansion.
Funding details
- €15 million raised in Series A round
- Funding was led by SCOR Ventures. Breega (pre-seed lead investor) re-invested and MS&AD, Armilar, Stableton, BiG Start Ventures and Shilling are also participating.
- Business angels including Firmin Zocchetto (CEO at PayFit), Job van der Voort (CEO at Remote – a client), Nuno Sebastião (CEO at Feedzai), Humberto Ayres Pereira (CEO at Rows – a client), Hugo Arévalo (Co-founder at ThePower Business School), Alessandro Petazzi (Co-founder of Musement), and Davide Dattoli (Founder of Talent Garden) also got involved.
Miguel Amaro, Coverflex CEO: “In the current macro environment, this Series A round validates our ambitious vision, product-market fit in Portugal and a market opportunity in Europe, especially in Italy – Edenred’s most profitable market in the world despite having a strong pushback from both merchants and users recently. This round confirms that our focus on adapting human resources processes to the current demand for a more personalised compensation experience is more than relevant today”.
Launched in 2021 by Luís Rocha, Miguel Santo Amaro, Nuno Pinto, Rui Carvalho and Tiago Fernandes, Coverflex positions itself as a flexible compensation solution – the clue really is in the name.
The all-in-one platform enables any company, of any size, to design, consolidate and personalise their compensation offers with health insurance, meal allowance, fringe benefits and discounts. It aggregates multiple providers and helps companies cut costs with tax-efficient benefits while giving employees more value and improving their financial literacy on compensation and benefits.
It, therefore, offers a completely individualised approach to employee benefits, which is what makes it stand out. The Portuguese startup believes that by doing so, it can offer companies a competitive edge by empowering them to properly look after their best asset – their people.
Ben Marrel, Co-Founder & CEO of Breega: “People are companies’ most valuable asset. In one of the most transformative and challenging markets of our time, Coverflex proved its market fit. Two years ago we believed that Coverflex would be a game changer. Today, we know it is”.
Since its launch, Coverflex has been implemented in more than 3600 companies, streamlining HR processes for the likes of Santander, Natixis, OysterHR, Bolt, Emma, Revolut and Smartex. It’s reported to have over 400% growth year-on-year, which is impressive for such a young startup. Currently, at 70,000 active users, who use Coverflex more than 8 times on average per month, the company has processed more than €80 million to their customers’ employees’ wallets.
Will Thorne, Head of SCOR Ventures who joins the company’s board: “At SCOR Ventures, our top priority is to build a diverse portfolio of innovative solutions solving risk for individuals, businesses, and our planet. We believe employers have an opportunity to reshape employee benefits management and improve employee satisfaction while closing the care and protection gap using a new generation of tools and services. Coverflex empowers companies and staff to deliver this ambition.”
The remote team counts staff across the world, and now, it wants to expand its offering in Italy, taking on the meal voucher (“buoni pasto”) and welfare market there. To do so, it’ll launch a platform with low, sustainable merchant fees to bars, supermarkets and restaurants in the coming months.
Chiara Bassi, Country Manager – Italy at Coverflex: “In Italy, fees go up to 20% per transaction, the highest in Europe for this kind of market. Current providers charge high commissions and pay in 60-90 days, which leads to restaurants and supermarkets opting out of the system. Fewer options equals lower satisfaction for employees, which is why this is a huge opportunity to disrupt the market”.
The funding will also support the innovative company to grow its team, namely by taking on more product, sales and engineering experts.