Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2016

Start-up name: Onfido
Founders: Eamon Jubbawy, Husayn Kassai and Ruhul Amin
Started in: 2012
Based in:  London
Business description: Intelligent background checking platform

Having founded intelligent background checking tool Onfido in the early 20’s, which is now used by over 1,000 companies worldwide, Young Guns Eamon Jubbawy, Husayn Kassai (pictured centre) and Ruhul Amin were the clear stand-out winners for Young Entrepreneur of the Year.

Still all aged under 30, the youngest of the founding team – Jubbawy – heads up the company’s UK headquarters and single-handedly runs global operations aged just 24.

Onfido uses machine learning and artificial intelligence to help companies overcome their outdated, slow and expensive manual background checking processes, ultimately onboarding more users, while reducing fraud and dropout.

Today, Onfido employs more than 145 people across its offices in London and San Francisco and works with the likes of Deliveroo and Handy. Now backed by $25m in Series B funding, Onfido is planning to invest heavily in continuing its “strong upwards trajectory”.

With Pip & Nut, the nut butter brand founded by 28 year-old Pip Murray, recognised as highly commended, and Climb Online, the digital marketing agency founded by 26 year-old Apprentice winner Mark Wright, commended by the judges, Onfido’s founding trio saw off worthy competition to take home the accolade. Proof that age really is just a number!