It’s that time of the month again, where Equitise brings you the latest and greatest from the equity crowdfunding scene worldwide. As the year is swiftly rounding up itself, we examine how governments, platforms and individuals are shaping the industry to varying degrees of success. Today’s roundup features big news from international pockets of the Fintech scene, from Finland’s launch of new equity crowdfunding regulation to Nesta’s bold crowdfunding challenge, read on for more!
Fintech in Finland
Equity crowdfunding launched in Finland in 2012, with two successful portals operating since then, and enjoying one of the clearer and more liberal pieces of crowdfunding legislation in Europe. The Crowdfunding Act came into force on 1 September, with the Ministry of Finance stating the new legislation would ease investment-based crowdfunding regulation and clarify the rules of loan-based crowdfunding. As a result of the new law, Invesdor, Finland’s premier equity crowdfunding platform, stated that the crowdfunding volume should double within a year. With easier registration now available for incumbent platforms, and a framework that functions both nationally and internationally, the Finnish model will serve as a positive template for other European countries to emulate.
Nesta’s Challenge
Nesta, whose helpful industry surveys and insights have featured on this blog numerous times, has planned a Fintech challenge to boost UK competition and innovation. The competition, which asks Fintech startups to develop data-driven tools that assist with the selection process of financial services for small business, adds to the already advanced UL Fintech scene. Nesta stated that “When launched, the prize will build upon a rapidly evolving technological landscape in banking (i.e. the introduction of an Open Data and Banking APIs), as well as regulatory backing for comparison tools aimed at SMEs.”
What’s the ECN?
No, equity crowdfunding hasn’t established its own CNN, 24/7 news service. ECN, the European Crowdfunding Network, is an annual convention taking place in Paris, functioning as a meeting point for industry professionals and insiders. Seminars will be reviewing the industry’s current position in Europe’s alternative finance market, especially in light of the Brexit fallout and the rapid growth of blockchain. Given that the alternative finance market in Europe approached 7 billion in 2015, the ECN aims to encourage even stronger pan-European partnerships to assist in continued growth, with high-level stakeholders from all levels of the industry coming together.
Charitable Crowdfunding
We know already that the UK have a vibrant equity crowdfunding scene, accounting for 84% of Europe’s industry in 2015 alone. Now, the nation’s leading Fintech bodies are teaming together for a good cause. Nesta, Crowdfund UK, the Heritage Lottery Fund and Arts Council England have formed a new crowdfunding programme to channel £250,000 into the arts. The platform will dedicate a certain amount of its next crowdfunding projects to the arts and heritage crowdfunding projects around the UK, to be matched pound for pound by the government bodies.
That’s all from this month’s crowdfunding update, stay tuned for all the latest industry insights.