Southampton-based dementia debit card wins £125k Dragons' Den investment

A business owner has secured £125,000 on Dragons' Den for her debit card and mobile app for people with dementia.

Jayne Sibley, from Winchester, created Sibstar while caring for her parents, who were both diagnosed with the disease.

The card and app allows families to safely manage everyday spending and was launched in March 2023.

Dragons' Den investors, Sara Davies and Deborah Meaden backed the business and said it could "transform lives".

Ms Sibley recently appeared on the BBC show with her business partner Martin Orton and said it was a "hugely emotional experience" as she had to talk about "difficult times" caring for her parents.

She said when her late mother, June, was living with dementia, handling everyday money became difficult, explaining: "She got very confused with how much to spend, she would spend more on food shopping than me and I've got a family of four and it would all go off in the fridge.

"She fell victim to scams over the phone, she would take money out of the cashpoint and give it away three or four times a day. My brother and I eventually made the very difficult decision of taking away access to her own money, which immediately meant taking away her independence."

Sibstar means a person with dementia has access to a debit card, which is pre-loaded with funds and a caregiver or loved one is then able to manage the money through a phone app.

Ms Sibley added: "You can manage how and where that money is used. So you can set monthly spending limits, daily spending limits, you can set how much can be taken out of the cashpoint."

Deborah Meaden and Sara Davies both offered £62,500 on the show, each with a 5% share of the business.

Ms Meaden said: "Jayne's idea is so simple, but has the ability to transform lives. I was impressed by how she'd taken her own lived experience and channelled it into making an impressive financial services product that's already secured a foothold in a sector in which it's notoriously difficult to achieve cut-through."

Ms Davies added: "I think many families out there are going to be extremely grateful to Jayne for addressing a common challenge for people with dementia, and I'm excited to offer the benefit of my experience to help those affected live independently for longer." 

Ms Sibley said that since the Dragons' Den episode aired, enquiries into the business have increased.

She said: "Our social media following has doubled overnight and our enquiries have gone up by about 1,000%, huge impact it's an incredible opportunity."

From BBC