Making it Work
The company has developed a risk management system for foreign exchange payments which it feels can appeal to SMEs
Alt21, a Dublin-based fintech, expects to clear the requirements to be regulated in Ireland before the end of the year. The business, while headquartered in Ireland, is currently only registered to operate in the UK.
It has developed a risk management system for foreign exchange payments based around hedging. The focus is on making traditionally more complex financial tools available to SMEs.
“Essentially, we help companies do business internationally by solving two problems, the costs and the risks,” Pritesh Ruparel, chief executive of Alt21, told the Business Post.
Company Details
Alt21
Founded by: Barry McCarthy in 2017
Staff: 74
Funding: €28.3 million
The firm is based in Dublin city and was founded by Barry McCarthy in 2017. The business, now led by Ruparel, has 74 staff and has raised €28.3 million to date. Ruparel initially joined in 2021 as chief commercial officer before moving to his current role of chief executive in 2022.
“I loved the idea behind the business and was committed to making it a success, but it was still a leap of faith when I joined. The company had about six months of runway left and the platform wasn’t ready to launch,” he said.
“Everyone got together and through whatever means we could, we had huge growth. I joined in July of 2021, we got the platform live by September and, by December we had managed to do €2 million in revenue.”
The business is supported by Enterprise Ireland, and Ruparel said the agency has been a key support to Alt21 throughout its existence.
“Enterprise Ireland was an early stage investor. We’ve been involved with them since inception. It’s a super interesting organisation and we also want to impact other Enterprise Ireland companies,” he said.
“A big part of what we do is help small companies. We work with a lot of growth companies that tend to not get the help they need.”
Ruparel said the early focus of the business on the British market led to the unusual scenario where it is regulated there rather than in Ireland. It’s a situation he expects to be resolved soon so the business can trade with companies closer to home.
“It’s odd. We’re an Irish-headquartered business but we’re regulated in the UK, which means we technically can’t work with Irish clients,” he said. “Everyone just assumes we’re regulated in Ireland when we’re not. Fortunately, we will be soon and will be able to make an impact on Irish businesses.”
Alt21 expects formal approval of its licence to operate in Ireland to be cleared before the end of the year. The company plans to grow its staff here significantly once that happens.
“Of the 74 jobs we’ve created, almost 50 of them are outside of Ireland. With us being regulated here, we’ll be able to base more of our staff here. We plan on creating 25 jobs in Ireland in the next 12 months, with significant growth in the coming years,” Ruparel said.
This Making it Work article is produced in partnership with Enterprise Ireland