2016 proved to be a positive year for leading French equity crowdfunding platform WiSEED. The pioneering platform obtained the status of Investment Services Provider (PSI) to raise up to €5 million while launching two new offerings (renewable energy projects and agroforestry) and consolidating its three existing channels of startups, real estate and social innovation. WiSEED was also recognized by the prestigious Technology #Fast50 and #Fast500 Deloitte for the third consecutive year.
“In 2017, we will continue to write the story of WiSEED for ever more exciting and economically viable projects are, from individuals, funds to match their ambitions,” wrote WiSEED CEO Stéphanie Savel in a newsletter.
In an interview earlier this year with CI’s Therese Torris, Savel commented on WiSEED’s future post-ISP plans:
“We believe that this move will help us to scale our business while retaining the brand characteristics that differentiate us from traditional financial institutions. We want to keep our spirit as a crowdfunding startup: our determination to democratize investing, our support of innovation and impact investing, our agility, and our transparency, our capacity to ensure the traceability of the funds we help raise. Our strategy will remain focused on retail investors, but we are also willing to cooperate with institutional investors, banks and insurance companies, including our current partner and shareholder, the Crédit Coopératif.
“Our first step will be to enhance our product portfolio. We will soon announce new products that will fill gaps in our offering in terms of the risk/reward needs of retail investors. We also have significant crowdfunding campaigns in the pipeline that should attract the attention of many investors, retail investors as well as institutional investors and family offices. Our next step will be our international expansion, but that will most probably happen in 2017.”
WiSEED’s 77,800 members have raised more than 69M euro for 149 projects to date. Current live campaigns include Alma Bio Therapeutics, a healthcare company working to help people who suffer from autoimmune diseases; Altern Mobil; Safe Innovations, a small power generation turbines company; and Mamie & Co, a French brand that taps into our grandmothers’ tips, remedies and recipes.
