10060072Creating instant decisioning for Future Earnings Agreements (FEAs) and safety systems for FEA servicingClosedCollaborative R&DInnovate UKStepEx (StepEx) is a UK fintech SME led by core project team of Daniel George (CEO, Founder, and Product Manager), Leo Della-Moretta (Project Manager and COO). Highly skilled professionals are needed in the U.K.; nearly a quarter of employment vacancies are due to a lack of qualified candidates. This is especially a concern for the growing digital sector. As the economy is rapidly becoming more dependent on digital methods, a deficit in digital skills from the working population will likely have an adverse impact on this sector's growth (Regional Digital Ecosystems, 2021). However, most people under 30 find paying for education to train or retrain to become active participants in the digital economy extremely challenging. For many it seems out of reach. Not only are they faced with the pressure of rising living costs, but many have not built an income or credit history that would enable them to qualify for loans from traditional financial institutions (ONS, 2018). StepEx is developing a platform that will help students access funding via future earnings agreements (FEAs) through various educational providers. These FEAs are structured using algorithms to match a portion of a student's future earnings over a defined duration with the cost of the course or degree. Using FEAs means students will not be applying for traditional loans or debt as the repayment is not based on interest and principal. Instead, the student borrower will pay back a percentage of their future gross income over a certain amount of time. StepEx will be the first to offer regulated FEAs to help students fund their education and a platform to help educational providers offer this option to students.