Digital education: the way of the future

As an entrepreneur, Arne Vandendriessche’s aim is to grow quickly and sustainably. “In the educational field, digitalisation has really taken off in recent years. Today, teachers no longer convey one single message to 25 students: instead, they send it digitally, adjusting it to each individual within the class. At Signpost, we want to make that easier to achieve, providing teachers and students with the tools they need.”

Becoming the leading European platform for student software

Through some well-considered choices, Arne Vandendriessche has put Signpost on an ambitious investment path, and he has given his company a clear mission. “It has four key aspects: hardware, software, connectivity and digital content. Although we’re growing quickly, we want to remain specialists in our business areas. So we turn down any projects that fall outside the education sector. We want to grow geographically, not by expanding into other sectors. Signpost is currently developing its business in France and Spain, and is already the leading player in Benelux. Our software platform is currently used by 500,000 students. But since last year, we’ve also been operating in 12 new countries. Our ultimate goal is to become the leading European platform for student software.”

Effective support at the start of the academic year

As Arne Vandendriessche emphasises, to fund that kind of development, you need a bank that’s prepared to be flexible at all times. “Our relationship with BNP Paribas Fortis is vitally important. The bank listens to what we need, and helps us consider the issues. For example, we can now offer leasing solutions to parents who don’t want to buy hardware straight away. This allows us to retain control over our cash flow and funding needs, which is important for any company.”

Entrepreneurial success stories

At BNP Paribas Fortis, we are particularly proud to support passionate and inspiring entrepreneurs like Arne Vandendriessche. Working together to forge new ways of doing business: another example of Positive Banking.