MyLife Digital secures £2m investment to accelerate growth

BGF has announced a £2m investment in data analytics company, MyLife Digital Ltd. The investment enables MyLife Digital to accelerate the roll-out of its digital platform that connects organisations and individuals, allowing the consensual sharing of personal and professional data to improve performance and deliver change.

MyLife Digital currently operates two successful analytics practices, Wood for Trees and PGIR. Wood for Trees manages the data of millions of donors and supporters to provide insights to more than half of the UK’s Top 50 charities, including British Red Cross and Dogs Trust. PGIR provides performance analysis services to elite international and professional teams in a variety of sports, including the Rugby Football Union.

The MyLife Digital platform means organisations can be compliant with the new data protection regulation, GDPR, due to come into force in 2018. More than that, it enables organisations to be transparent and accountable about the data they hold on individuals, and use insights from the data to benefit both the individual and the organisation.

The platform will initially be deployed into the not-for-profit, sport, healthcare and government sectors enabling patients, donors, supporters and athletes to have an open and mutually beneficial relationship based on informed consent.

John Hall, CEO, MyLife Digital explains: “People recognise the value of their personal data but they also have concerns around privacy. They are more likely to engage with organisations if they feel in control of how their data is being used and know that they are genuinely benefiting from an organisation being able to analyse that data. It’s about re-establishing trust, which has been eroded in recent years, between organisations and the individuals they serve.

“This might be helping asthma sufferers better manage their condition, or athletes and teams perform at a higher level, growing sport participation nationally. The platform enables multiple health and social care agencies to work together to better protect vulnerable people. It’s an exciting time and BGF’s investment will really help us accelerate our growth and development in this new space.”

James Austin, an investor at BGF who joins the board of MyLife Digital, said: “With an impressive customer base in the sport and charity sector, MyLife Digital is already a leader in the field of personal information data analysis. We are pleased to be backing this highly experienced team as they continue to grow in these rapidly developing markets. Their vision for the Group over the next five years is powerful and credible, and we will be able to bring additional value to MLD through our existing network of investments and partners.”