Funding Health

INCENTIFI RAISES PRE-SEED FUNDING AND APPOINTS FORMER DELIVEROO EXEC AS ADVISER

January 14, 2026 NewsDesk behaviour change rewards, Co-Founder, corporate wellbeing solutions, employee engagement tools, employee rewards platform, employee wellbeing technology, employer wellbeing strategy, health and wellbeing apps, incentifi, incentifi Paul Kelbie, Investor and Strategic Adviser, James Hardy, mental health at work, pre-seed funding UK, presenteeism costs, sickness absence UK, startup funding London, UK workplace stress, wellbeing incentives, workplace wellbeing

A growing number of UK employers are reassessing how they support staff wellbeing as stress, sickness absence and lost productivity continue to climb. Against that backdrop, incentifi, a workplace rewards platform designed to encourage healthier behaviour through real-world incentives, has closed a £150,000 phase one pre-seed funding round.

The London-based company has also appointed James Hardy as an investor and strategic adviser, adding senior operational and financial experience as the business prepares to pilot its model with employers across multiple sectors.

Hardy brings a background in scaling high-growth consumer brands, having previously held senior finance roles at Deliveroo and now serving as co-founder and chief operating officer of Bioniq, which has expanded through Series B funding backed by figures including Cristiano Ronaldo.

“What really stood out to me was the strength of the team and the clarity of the model,” Hardy said. “incentifi is built around improving healthier lives while delivering a clear return for employers and partners. Having seen first-hand at Bioniq how impactful it can be when wellbeing and business objectives truly align, incentifi delivers exactly that. I’m excited to be part of the journey ahead.”

The initial funding will be used to pilot incentifi’s app with a number of businesses, including independently owned Specsavers practices. These trials will examine whether rewarding movement and healthier habits can improve staff wellbeing while offering tangible lifestyle value, such as contributing towards the cost of holidays.

The company is now preparing for its next phase of fundraising, with a £500,000 round under way and SEIS assurance in place. This stage will run alongside a closed pilot programme and soft launch, designed to capture employer feedback and refine the product before a broader rollout.

Paul Kelbie, co-founder of incentifi, said the early backing reinforced both the commercial and social rationale behind the platform. “From our own personal and professional experiences, we started incentifi with one mission and purpose in mind, to incentivise people to prioritise healthier choices through rewards they actually want,” he said. “This funding and James joining us as an advisor validates both the mission and the model. Our focus now is learning.”

The timing reflects mounting pressure on employers to address wellbeing. Around 79 per cent of UK employees report experiencing moderate to high stress, with more than a third saying it affects their personal lives and sleep. Sick leave has risen to a 15-year high of 9.4 days per employee, driven largely by mental health issues, while presenteeism is estimated to account for between 50 and 70 per cent of total wellbeing-related costs.

incentifi’s platform aims to tackle these challenges by rewarding everyday activity such as steps, exercise and workouts with meaningful lifestyle benefits, including travel rewards. The company argues that linking individual health behaviours with incentives employees genuinely value can align wellbeing initiatives with measurable commercial outcomes, from improved productivity to stronger staff engagement.

As UK businesses continue to absorb the cost of stress-related absence and underperformance, models that promise both healthier teams and clearer returns are likely to face increasing scrutiny from employers and investors alike.

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