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NPIF II - River Capital invests in innovative marketing tech start-Up

Press release 19 March 2025

Liverpool-based tech start-up Marko Marketing Limited has secured a £35,000 loan from NPIF II – River Capital & GC Business Finance Smaller Loans, which is managed by River Capital & GC Business Finance as part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II.

Image from left to right Sarah Barton Ben Abernethy Sue Chambers and Francis Kilner

Founded by tech entrepreneur Ben Abernethy in October 2024, Marko Marketing has developed an affordable, AI-powered marketing platform designed specifically for small businesses that struggle to access effective marketing tools due to budget and resource constraints.

The funding will support Marko Marketing's launch phase, including product development, marketing activities, and the engagement of IT contractors to assist with ongoing software improvements.

The innovative platform brings together multiple marketing functions into one easy-to-use system, including content creation, social media scheduling, analytics, SEO tools, and email marketing capabilities.

The subscription-based service costs just £30 per month, making effective marketing technology accessible to smaller enterprises.

Sue Chambers, Investment Manager at River Capital, said:

We're delighted to support Ben with this investment. Marko addresses a clear gap in the market for affordable marketing tools designed specifically for small businesses. Ben's extensive experience in both IT and marketing has enabled him to create a solution that truly meets the needs of smaller businesses.

Ben Abernethy, Founder and Director of Marko Marketing, commented:

This investment from River Capital is crucial in helping us bring our innovative marketing platform to market. We've designed Marko to remove the complexity and high costs associated with effective marketing, making these tools accessible to businesses of all sizes. The early feedback from our test users has been overwhelmingly positive, and we're excited to start welcoming our first paying customers.

Sue Barnard, Senior Investment Manager at the British Business Bank, said:

With the world now committed to embracing and implementing AI into many aspects of our lives, it is vital that businesses in the North are able to access finance that will help them play a key part in this digital transformation. This loan will now help Marko Marketing begin providing other businesess in the region with an AI tool which will equip other Northern businesses to improve and grow in their own right.

The company plans to create five full-time jobs over the next few years as it expands its customer base and develops additional features, including a mobile application version of the platform.

The loan from River Capital is complemented by a £25,000 Start Up loan, giving the business a solid financial foundation for its launch phase.

The £660m Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II (NPIFII) covers the entire North of England and provides loans from £25k to £2m and equity investment up to £5m to help a range of small and medium sized businesses to start up, scale up or stay ahead.

The purpose of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II is to drive sustainable economic growth by supporting innovation and creating local opportunity for new and growing businesses across the North of England. The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II will increase the supply and diversity of early-stage finance for the North’s smaller businesses, providing funds to firms that might otherwise not receive investment and help to break down barriers in access to finance.

Further Information

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Notes to editors

About River Capital

River Capital exists to fuel ambitions. This includes the ambitions of our clients and our colleagues as well as those of the management teams we invest in.

We do that by managing a range of debt and equity funds which focus primarily on the North West, totalling over £100m, from our offices in Liverpool and Manchester.

For more information, visit River Capital

About the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II

  • Operated by the British Business Bank, the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II (NPIF II) provides a mix of debt and equity funding. NPIF II will offer a range of commercial finance options with smaller loans from £25k to £100k, debt finance from £100k to £2m and equity investment up to £5 million. It works alongside the Combined Authorities, Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs), and Growth Hubs, as well as local intermediaries such as accountants, fund managers and banks, to support the South West’s smaller businesses at all stages of their development. 
  • The funds in which the NPIF II invests are open to businesses with material operations, or planning to open material operations, in: Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside, City of Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, Hartlepool and Stockton-on-Tees, South Teesside, Darlington, Durham, Northumberland, Tyneside, Sunderland.
  • Supported by Nations and Regions Investments Limited, a subsidiary of British Business Bank plc, the Bank is a development bank wholly owned by HM Government. Neither Nations and Regions Investments Limited nor British Business Bank plc are authorised or regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) or the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

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