Aegon the Netherlands has taken a minority stake in Newest Industry, the FinTech startup that's helped property website Jumba.nl attract 150,000 visitors per month.
Digital transformation Since its launch in 2013, Newest Industry has additionally been used on the websites of the UK's Selective Mortgages, and Dutch mortgage compare site, the Hypotheekshop.
Robbert Bakker, Chief Digital Officer at Aegon the Netherlands, says the company presents an interesting opportunity for Aegon. "Newest Industry supports our ambition to speed up our digital transformation, with products that we believe in," he says.
NICCI.io is a customer-centric platform that analyzes big data, cleans it up, and makes data based predictions.
Taking a (minority) interest in Newest Industry enables Aegon to make optimal use of existing knowledge and experience, and provides Newest Industry with access to expertise within Aegon. "Through their data-driven community platform, NICCI.io, the company offers a technical and strategically interesting platform," says Robbert Bakker.
Consumer-friendly technology NICCI.io is a development platform - the underlying computer system on which application programs can run - that analyzes big data, cleans it up, and makes data based predictions. This ensures that the end user receives a completely personalized digital experience providing relevant information when and where the end user needs it. "Applications based on NICCI.io will enable us to better serve our customers with new solutions. This fits perfectly with Aegon's strategy," adds Robbert.
Kees Haverkamp, founder and CEO of Newest Industry, is happy to have Aegon onboard as a shareholder. "Aegon will provide us with more opportunities to grow faster," he says, adding: "I have high expectations for this collaboration."
Venture fund This is not Aegon's first FinTech investment in the Netherlands. Previous investments include eyeOpen and Kroodle . On an international level , the Aegon Group operates a separate 100 million euro global venture fund, through Transamerica Ventures . Since its launch last year, the fund has acquired interests in a number of key startups around the world.
