Seven of the UK’s largest crowdfunding platforms have teamed up to launch alternativebusinessfunding.co.uk, a new web portal aimed at providing SMEs with “a free and easy way for SMEs to find alternative business funding.”
Crowdcube, Seedrs, Zopa, Funding Circle, MarketInvoice, Platform Black and Pensionledfunding.com are all part of the initiative.
We are focused on making it simple for time-constrained business-owners to find the right funder to contact, with only a few simple questions and no personal contact information required to use the site.
The new portal’s main page starts with a very simple question: how much money do you want to raise? From there, a wizard-like questionnaire continues to ask questions and drill down through the available choices in a “traffic light interface.”
In addition to matching issuers with potential platforms, the group will also lobby on behalf of the wider crowdfunding sector. One goal of the collaboration is to “lobby the Government to introduce ‘signposting’ for any unsuccessful bank applicant.” The group will work with existing organizations like the CBI, FSB and CDFA to advance crowdfunding-friendly (and, as they’d argue, small business friendly) initiatives.
According to GrowthBusiness.co.uk, the seven participants account for 85% of the UK crowdfunding marketplace representing £580 million in capital formation.
