Leif Secures Strategic Financing Round Totaling More Than $60 Million

NEW YORK, May 20, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Leif, a technology company dedicated to increasing access to quality and affordable education, today announced that it has completed a strategic financing round totaling more than $60 million. Leif intends to use the new financing to strategically expand its platform to meet the increasing demand for outcomes-aligned tuition financing solutions, which have had significant impact for students and schools. The strategic financing includes:

• LL Funds, LLC, an independent investment firm focused on specialty consumer finance investments, has committed a new $50 million credit facility to Leif's platform of existing capital partners and has committed to invest $10 million in equity; and
• Insita Group LTD, a non-profit focused on education and workforce development, has made an equity investment in Leif. Terms of the investment were not disclosed.

Leif is the Tuition Finance Management Platform that provides end-to-end, outcomes-aligned tuition financing solutions to help industry leading education providers across a variety of fields unlock full program growth and potential. Leif is the only outcomes-based tuition finance Program Manager with a track record of performance in outcomes-based education finance over its four-year history. As the leader in its space, Leif has partnered with over 200 schools and has arranged financing solutions, allowing schools to increase enrollment and educate nearly 20,000 students. In many cases, Leif's partner schools have seen an increase in enrollment of close to 100% by offering outcomes-based financing through Leif with a specific focus on increased diversity in their student population.

Jeffrey Groeber, CEO of Leif, said, "We are pleased to have the support of a prominent institutional investor and mission-driven social impact capital for this strategic financing. LL Funds' expertise in specialty finance lending and Insita's focus on meaningful improvement in outcomes for lower income youth and families in the United States will help us extend our leading capital markets expertise while fulfilling Leif's mission of increasing access to quality and affordable education. We could not ask for better interest-aligned partners as we continue to grow and expand Leif's platform."

"Leif is truly a unique, full-service program manager providing outcomes-aligned tuition financing solutions that are making a positive impact in the access and affordability of higher education for students," said Shivraj "Raj" Mundy, Partner at LL Funds. "Leif has successfully managed meaningful cohorts of contracts through their full-life cycle – from program design and contract origination through fulfillment. We are thrilled to support such an impact-driven company in the next stage of its evolution and we look forward to collaborating with the talented team at Leif."

Leif has partnered with close to 100 schools over the past year, facilitating the close of over $300 million in growth capital to drive the expansion of tuition financing and ISA programs, including: $25 million to Fullstack Academy, $25 million with Rithm School, $10 million with Entity, $10 million with Burlington Code Academy, $25 million with Victory Lap, $20 million with Kingsland University, and $20 million with Medical Interpreting and Translating Institute Online, among others.

Leif expects to grow its team from 25 employees to approximately 50 over the next 12 months to capitalize on its significant growth opportunities.

About Leif
Leif is a technology company dedicated to increasing access to quality and affordable education. The company has developed an end-to-end platform that enables the design, origination, and program management of Income Share Agreement and other outcomes-based tuition finance programs. As the infrastructure layer that powers tuition finance solutions for the postsecondary education ecosystem, Leif partners with schools to provide students with an outcomes-aligned form of education finance. To learn more, please visit: leif.org.

About LL Funds, LLC
Founded in 2009, LL Funds is an independent investment manager focused on opportunistic investments in asset-backed securities (ABS), structured and specialty finance. LL Funds manages over $2 billion for institutional and individual investors.

About Insita Group LTD
Insita is a private non-profit focused on meaningful improvement in outcomes for lower income youth and families in the United States.

Media Contacts
Kevin FitzGerald
Gasthalter & Co.
(212) 257-4170

SOURCE Leif