Birdwingo, a fintech based in Prague and New York, announced the closure of a €1.2 million funding round to launch their easy-to-use financial education and investment platform. The round was led by Bienville Capital, a New York-based VC fund, along with other company founders and bank executives.
Founded by two brothers who wished for such a tool in their youth, Birdwingo’s app is unique in the EU, allowing underage teenagers to invest in popular stocks and ETFs, such as Apple, Nvidia, and the S&P 500, among over 12,000 additional options. To educate teens on managing these assets, Birdwingo has created a “Duolingo for finance” academy designed to engage today’s teens with formats reminiscent of Duolingo, Instagram, and TikTok rather than a corporate finance textbook.
In the US, companies like Greenlight, Copper, Bloom, and Fidelity have successfully empowered teens with investing opportunities and financial education. However, such offerings are not currently available in Europe, where parents typically use traditional savings methods at banks or brokers without directly involving their teenagers. “Investing is becoming mainstream, so why should European teens be excluded when time is their greatest asset?” remarks Andrej Hano, co-founder of Birdwingo.
Adam Hano, Birdwingo’s co-founder said: “Birdwingo addresses the gap in financial education, which schools often inadequately cover, and is sometimes left to questionable financial influencers or scammers online. We step in to enable teenagers to actively invest under full parental supervision, combining high-quality theoretical knowledge with real-world practice.”
A new era for the next generation of investors in Europe
Birdwingo has developed a gamified learning experience akin to the popular language learning app, Duolingo. This engaging academy teaches essential financial skills such as investing, budgeting, and scam awareness through interactive lessons and real-life investing scenarios, all under the watchful oversight of parents. Additionally, Birdwingo motivates teens with cash rewards for learning through its ‘learn to earn’ feature. Crafted by graduates from top business schools, including the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, the academy has been tested in high schools across Europe.
Designed with the safety and education of young investors in mind, Birdwingo provides a fully controlled environment where parents can set investment restrictions, manually or automatically approve trades, and contribute to their children’s financial futures through regular account deposits. They can also track their children’s learning progress and even enhance their own financial knowledge.
A vision supported by results
Statistics from the platform’s beta testing phase show promising results: 94% of teens completing the Academy reported increased confidence in managing their money, 79% started saving and investing for the long term, and 84% of parents believe their kids’ financial literacy significantly improved.
With a user base already surpassing 20,000, Birdwingo is proving the demand for innovative financial education solutions. The app is regulated within the EU, ensuring a safe and credible platform for users across the continent. The platform is also planning to partner with high schools and non-profits to broaden its reach and impact. The app is already available on both the App Store and Google Play.
