This company’s platform, available in 150 countries, has facilitated loans totalling more than $505m for 10,300 students, helping to fund postgraduate studies at the likes of Imperial College London, Insead and Harvard. Its technology assesses loan applications based on variables such as projected earnings, rather than historical credit rating. It funds the loans through a community of university alumni and private and institutional investors. Chief executive Cameron Stevens, 40, started the firm in 2007 and it has raised $240m from investors, including Balderton Capital and Index Ventures. Sales, which represent loan origination and servicing fees, grew to £10.3m last year.