July 3, 2018 @ 2:02 pm By Therese Torris  |  

In recent years, interesting alternative forms of financing such as crowdlending and crowdfunding have emerged to provide the underserved European SME market with debt and equity financing. However, these alternative solutions have been hampered by a missing link in their distribution: SME advisors. This missing… Read More

June 29, 2018 @ 4:49 pm By Therese Torris  |  

Today June 28, Belgium-based SME lending platform Look&Fin announced that it has partnered with credit insurer Atradius to offer a 100% guarantee on the capital lent to SMEs by its retail investors. The move is dramatically closing the gap between marketplace lending and bank lending…. Read More

June 29, 2018 @ 1:49 am By Therese Torris  |  

The German Crowdfunding Association announced today that the German parliament has approved the implementation of the European Prospectus regulation and, at the suggestion of the federal government, has decided to raise the upper limit of the prospectus exemption for crowdfunding issuance from the current €2.5… Read More

June 23, 2018 @ 2:20 pm By Therese Torris  |  

Société Générale, France’s 3rd largest bank and global Nr. 17 announces the acquisition of Lumo, the pioneering crowdfunding platform dedicated to renewable energies Lumo is a French Fintech with strong skills in both crowdfunding and renewable energies which has dedicated itself to accelerating the energy… Read More

May 28, 2018 @ 7:11 pm By Therese Torris  |  

President Macron at Viva Tech, the “French CES” The question to ask about Viva Tech, the French Tech show taking place in Paris, May 24th to 26th, is not “Who goes there?” but rather “Who doesn’t?” In its third edition, Viva Tech, launched in 2016… Read More

May 21, 2018 @ 1:00 am By Therese Torris  |  

  A consumer survey reveals that the penetration of crowdfunding in France is still quite low. However, consumers have a very positive image of crowdfunding, one that remains close to its historical root values of innovation, democratization of access to financing, transparency, and economic /… Read More

April 3, 2018 @ 7:00 am By Therese Torris  |  

The CryptoSummit 2018 organized by Blockchain startup Smart Valor gathered more than 1,000 attendees from 47 countries in Zurich. One of the recurring themes of the conference presentations was the regulation of Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs). Many participants pointed out that there is now an… Read More

February 16, 2018 @ 7:46 am By Therese Torris  |  

After France, Spain and Italy, Lendix is launching operations in Germany and the Netherlands. The company reaffirms its strategy to be first to market with a pan-European strategy, leveraging its marketplace business model through the addition of local teams. “We’re not pivoting. We’re remaining true… Read More

February 8, 2018 @ 2:00 am By Therese Torris  |  

The asset management firm Eiffel Investment Group which manages the €100 million marketplace lending fund “Prêtons Ensemble” (meaning “Let’s Lend Together”) for institutional investors Aviva France, AG2R LA MONDIALE, MAIF, MGEN and Klesia awarded European Digital Lending Awards at a gathering held in Paris on… Read More

February 5, 2018 @ 1:58 pm By Therese Torris  |  

The Paris Fintech Forum 2018 (#PFF18) was a huge event, here are a few highlights from the sessions moderated by Crowdfund Insider & friends. The conference gathered more than 2,500 delegates from more than 50 countries from the five continents at the old French stock… Read More

January 29, 2018 @ 12:00 pm By Therese Torris  |  

The annual Alternative Finance & Crowdfunding Barometer compiled by KPMG for the French Crowdfunding Association (Financement Participatif France, FPF) shows that in 2017 the French Alternative Finance market grew by 50%, driven by SME lending growth, and came close to the billion euro mark, at… Read More

January 16, 2018 @ 9:39 am By Therese Torris  |  

Lendix’s historical investors are renewing their trust in the Paris-based European SME marketplace lender. The European Investment Bank Group (EIB), CNP Assurances, Eiffel IM, Groupama, Zencap AM, Matmut and Decaux Frères Investissements are among the first investors joining to finance Lendix’s latest investment vehicle to… Read More

November 8, 2017 @ 10:49 am By Therese Torris  |  

On 8 November 2017, the French Crowdfunding Association Financement Participatif France released the common set of performance indicators that member platforms specializing in loans, mini-bonds (a debt instrument specific to SME lending marketplaces) and bonds are invited to publish. Wishing to go beyond the legally… Read More

November 7, 2017 @ 5:00 pm By Therese Torris  |  

  Recently, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) held its first ever conference in Paris. The event underlined the growing importance of ESMA, the European Supervisory Authority for capital markets. Along with the European Commission and the Parliament, ESMA is one of the pillars… Read More

October 25, 2017 @ 3:29 pm By Therese Torris  |  

Two main topics of the 6th Annual Convention of the European Crowdfunding Network (ECN) on October 19th and 20th were technology innovation and cross-border finance. The discussions showed that alternative finance has only scratched the surface of its technological innovation’s potential ‒ the potential to… Read More

October 21, 2017 @ 8:10 am By Therese Torris  |  

On October 20, at its 6th Convention in Vilnius, Lithuania, the European Crowdfunding Network (ECN), the European association of alternative finance platforms, released its Third Edition of the Review of Existing Regulations of crowdfunding and related alternative financing in the 28 countries of Europe, as… Read More

October 12, 2017 @ 2:14 am By Therese Torris  |  

As the alternative lending sector matures, the general atmosphere of its flagship event LendIt takes a different tone. The tone of this year’s Lendit Europe was down-to-earth. Hype was out. Business in. Even the discussions about artificial intelligence and blockchain were imbued with much realism…. Read More

October 10, 2017 @ 5:00 am By Therese Torris  |  

On Monday, October 9, Lendit Europe, the event gathering 1000+ representatives of the international fintech and lending scene on the banks of the River Thames, opened with a presentation by Imran Gulamhuseinwala OBE, Global Head of FinTech at consultancy firm EY, who spoke about “The… Read More

October 6, 2017 @ 8:00 pm By Therese Torris  |  

French online factoring platform Finexkap is pursuing its rapid, yet controlled growth. Doubling in size each year since it opened for business in 2014, the Fintech startup passed last summer the €100 million mark of cumulated financing. France remains one of the markets with the… Read More

September 29, 2017 @ 2:00 am By Therese Torris  |  

The French real estate crowdfunding market grew by 50% in 2016 and keeps growing at the same linear growth pace in 2017. While new platforms continue to join, first entrants strongly dominate the nascent market. With €160 million worth of real estate projects funded, the… Read More