Last week, Finland-based financial service group, Nordea, announced that it was launching its very own equity crowdfunding platform. The company revealed that the new website will help will match entrepreneurs seeking financing with investors and the service will be linked to the book-entry system.
Nordea reported:
“Successful businesses are a benefit to Nordea and society at large. Finland needs growth, entrepreneurship and new innovations. We aim to support this trend by bringing together companies looking for crowdfunding and investors interested in such companies, says Sampsa Laine, Deputy Head of Banking Finland at Nordea. Laine is in charge of Retail Banking Finland’s operations that serve small and medium-sized companies.”
Vesa Riihimäki, the branch manager of Nordea, recently stated the funding portal will really help startups and early stage growth companies. He noted:
“We have already picked the companies for the pilot, but if you are interested don´t hesitate to contact us and we will see what can be done.”
The Finland Ministry of Finance has recently published an updated regulatory environment designed to facilitate debt and equity crowdfunding. The goal is to “enhance financial intermediation and thereby economic growth.” While the size of the crowdfunding market in Finland is relatively small, estimated at €84.4 million in 2015 (48% increase over year prior), the shift of all forms of finance is a global movement.
The government of Finland explained that crowdfunding compliments traditional financing channels. The new form of finance has been of “particular interest” to seed and growth stage companies. For investors, crowdfunding offers higher-yielding and higher-risk investment opportunities than traditional investments. Finish government officials also acknowledge the intrinsic risk in investing in early stage companies. Many will fail. Few will become a big success. The “Crowdfunding Act” seeks to assure investors are aware of the risk while channelling the sector development in the right direction.