Yesterday at the opening of UK Fintech Week, Secretary of State for International Trade and President of the Board of Trade Liam Fox announced the launch of the “DIT Fintech Bridge Pilot Program.” According to the Department for International Trade (DIT), the Bridge announced is a renewed relationship between two significant trading partners, Hong Kong and Australia, and their burgeoning Fintech ecosystems. Both countries have a well-organized Fintech marketplace which has garnered the support of each respective government.
The DIT Fintech Bridge announced the first round of selected participants for a program that will run for 10 Months from March-November 2019.
Included in the list, were two online capital formation platforms: Seedrs and Crowd2Fund.
The participation of these two crowdfunding platforms is indicative of their ambition to expand their capital raising services beyond the borders of the UK.
Seedrs has already established a relationship with US-based crowdfunding platform Republic, as well as catering to EU member countries.
Crowd2Fund has always harbored ambitions within the Australia-Asia region.
Crowd2Fund CEO Chris Hancock issued a statement on their participation in the DIT Fintech Bridge:
“We are thrilled to have been accepted into this prestigious programme which allows Crowd2Fund to retain a global vision and expand internationally more easily. Having the opportunity to trade within a well-developed market that is very similar to the UK is very exciting. There are 2m small businesses within Australia and a credit supply that is ripe for disruption.”
Jeff Lynn, co-founder and Executive Chairman of Seedrs, shared the following statement:
“We’re delighted to have been selected as one of ten UK fintech companies to work with InvestHK and the Department for International Trade over the next 6 months, alongside our friends at Onfido and TransferWise. Seedrs’ vision is a global one, and we’re very much looking forward to working with both the UK and Hong Kong governments in pursuit of a dynamic and forward-thinking regulatory framework for all investors to have access to early-stage equities”.
Capital formation wants to be borderless – as it should be. The hurdle is compliance and jurisdictional nuances that add cost and create barriers to all financial services firms. These barriers can be substantial for smaller, aspiring companies seeking to disrupt entrenched practices. The UK has led the way in promoting cross border engagement and services. The DIT Fintech Bridge is an important statement that policymakers are not letting the ways of the past get in the way of the Fintech future.
Karen Kerrigan @Seedrs live on stage at #IFGS2019 “At Seedrs it is about developing the infrastructure around equity investment – we see a future where everyone has a current and also has a Seedrs investment in their portfolio.” pic.twitter.com/oGHbX0QCUK
— Innovate Finance (@InnFin) April 29, 2019
