Dublin-based fund Elkstone has backed insurtech and property tech company Garentii as it raises €1.9 million to further its growth as it prepares to launch its platform.
The seed round was led by reinsurer Greenlight Re’s Innovations unit, with Elkstone and private investors also participating.
Garentii, which is based in Munich, is aiming to make renting inclusive and affordable to everyone, offering a digital platform to simplify rental deposit management for landlords and tenants. Using the platform, renters will pay a monthly fee rather than a rental deposit. Fees start at €3 per month, and are designed to replace costly deposits and their time-consuming management process, while still offering landlords security in the event of damage or unpaid rent. Garentii said it has a 48-hour payout on claims, and landlords can manage all their deposit policies in a single place.
The model, security deposit replacement insurance, has already seen some success in the United States.
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“We’ve built an embedded insurance solution that creates value not only for renters but for real estate landlords” says chief executive and co-founder, Michael Hazoume. “Paying cash deposit is just not fun. It is one of the most inefficient use of capital for renters and an admin burden for landlords. We want to make rental transactions simpler, more affordable and inclusive to everyone.”
The company is preparing to launch to the German market in June, with the seed funding providing the final element, and will be the first digitised specialised deposit insurance and management platform in Europe. Germany is Europe’s largest housing market, with an estimated €30 billion in rental deposits alone. About 55 per cent of the population rents.
Garentii, which was founded in 2021 by Mr Hazoume, Dennis Stern and Vitaliy Zhovtyuk, plans to move into additional countries later in the year.
Alan Merriman, chief executive and co-founder of Elkstone, said the start-up had the potential to tackle the inefficiencies of the rental market and lower the barrier to renting for both landlords and renters. “The Garentii team has a deep understanding of the real estate market and has built the digital platform it needs to execute on its mission to disrupt the rental system across Europe,” he said. “Elkstone is proud to support this team in its journey to realising this vision.”
