Asia

October 30, 2015 @ 9:13 am By JD Alois  |  

FundedByMe Malaysia to Partner with Rave Accelerator Announced earlier this year following announced equity crowdfunding regulations by the Malaysian government, Sweden-based FundedByMe and Alix Global have entered into a formal joint venture (JV) to operate an equity crowdfunding platform by year’s end. According to information… Read More

October 29, 2015 @ 1:09 pm By Erin Hobey  |  

The Securities Commission of Malaysia (SC) will introduce a framework for peer-to-peer (P2P) lending next year, reported The Star‘s Ng Bei Shan, a motion in line with the growing interest in fintech in Asia. “You need to have the right matrix to determine the credit quality of… Read More

October 27, 2015 @ 11:15 am By Erin Hobey  |  

The Indian fintech platform Razorpay has raised US$9 million in Series A funding led by leading VC firm Tiger Global, with participation from existing investor Matrix Partners, according to a release.  Including its US$2.5M seed funding round, the company’s total fundraise to date is US$11.5 million.  Funding will be used to build Razorpay’s product and… Read More

October 27, 2015 @ 8:34 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Renren Inc. (NYSE: RENN) (“Renren” or the “Company”), a real-name social networking internet platform in China, announced on Tuesday  it has completed an additional $150 million preferred stock investment in Social Finance Inc. (“SoFi”), a San Francisco-based online lending company. Renren has been an investor… Read More

October 27, 2015 @ 7:49 am By JD Alois  |  

Edinburgh-based investment crowdfunding platform ShareIn is targeting China as a unique opportunity.  Announced today at the World Crowdfunding  Conference taking place in Guiyang, China, the company stated it would launch the first joint, China – UK crowdfunding campaign designed to allow Chinese investors to purchase… Read More

October 26, 2015 @ 7:51 am By JD Alois  |  

China’s internet finance industry continues to grow dramatically, but this rapid growth has been paired with a high number of dodgy p2p platforms and failures.  According to a report published in QZ, research completed by Morgan Stanley and Wangdaizhijia states that since 2007, 370 peer… Read More

October 14, 2015 @ 8:40 am By JD Alois  |  

Harmoney, the first peer to peer lender to launch in New Zealand, has added some big names to its advisory board.  Accord to a release published by the P2P site, Jon Barlow, founder of Eaglewood Capital and Phin Upham of Thiel Capital have signed up… Read More

October 13, 2015 @ 12:16 pm By Erin Hobey  |  

“This Joint Venture is a key step in CoAssets’ plans to expand throughout the ASEAN region. Javaland has been successfully operating in Indonesia for a decade, building solid relationships with both the investment community and government departments.” The real estate crowdfunding company CoAssets Pte Ltd, recently… Read More

October 11, 2015 @ 5:08 pm By Spencer Li  |  

  At the end of July, China’s central bank issued a set of draft regulations on online payments for public opinion, which recently concluded at the end of August. The draft rules were hailed by industry players and media as the “harshest rules in history”… Read More

October 9, 2015 @ 9:08 am By JD Alois  |  

A web platform that tracks peer to peer lending in China has stated that September was another record month for online lenders. According to a report in the ShanghaiDaily, P2P transactions hit 115.2 billion RMB ($18.1 billion USD) last month. Online Lending House stated monthly… Read More

October 6, 2015 @ 8:20 pm By Midori Yoshimura  |  

In one of India’s biggest crowdfunding success stories, smart gadget Exploride just wrapped up its abundantly funded crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo, raising $521,546–512 percent of its original fundraising goal. Exploride is a clear glass heads-up display with gesture and hands-free voice controls, designed to work with any… Read More

October 6, 2015 @ 10:55 am By Zhao Liang  |  

The concept of crowdfunding is derived from crowdsourcing and micro-finance. Crowdfunding is a financing process for individuals and enterprises to raise funds from the public via the internet. Crowdfunding platforms, project initiators, and investors are the participants in crowdfunding. Open online project exhibition, fund raising… Read More

October 5, 2015 @ 10:08 am By Erin Hobey  |  

IndiaLends, a credit and financial technology startup based in New Delhi, has closed a $1M bridge round led by existing investors DSG Consumer Partners, Siddharth Parekh and Gautham Radhakrishnan. IndiaLends was cofounded by Gaurav Chopra, who has an MBA from the London Business School, and Mayank Kachhwaha, who graduated from IIT… Read More

October 2, 2015 @ 6:07 pm By JD Alois  |  

List71, based in Singapore, has put a new spin on the crowdfunding space.  According to the site description, List71 is “beyond debt and equity”.  Investors sign up to receive a portion the company’s revenue for a period of time instead of purchasing direct ownership.  Company… Read More

October 2, 2015 @ 3:10 pm By JD Alois  |  

Fincera, a company that started in the transportation and automotive leasing business, is getting out of this sector to focus on internet finance.  The company announced earlier this week that “the company’s legacy truck leasing business ceased initiating new leases in August 2015.”  It’s internet… Read More

October 2, 2015 @ 11:30 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Fintech innovation in India is burgeoning!  Indian  Chillr, an Indian peer-to-peer (P2P) mobile money transfer app that spun off from MobME, secured US$6 million in a Series A round funding led by trailblazing Sequoia Capital, according to e27‘s Sainul Abudheen K. Run by Kochi-based startup Backwater Technologies, Chillr plans… Read More

October 1, 2015 @ 1:46 am By Midori Yoshimura  |  

Indonesia’s Financial Services Authority, or OJK, will announce a countrywide crowdfunding regulation next week, said OJK Chairman Muliaman Hadad, according to DealStreetAsia. The regulation will be simple and allow startups open access to funding, he added. The upcoming regulation would lay out plans for promoting VC businesses and for establishing new… Read More

September 30, 2015 @ 12:18 am By Midori Yoshimura  |  

China recently noted that it will promote greater use of equity crowdfunding for startups to encourage entrepreneurship, according to a Cabinet document posted on the central government’s website, writes the South China Morning Post. Repeatedly, the Chinese government has stated its interest in stimulating employment in the state-dominated… Read More

September 26, 2015 @ 1:20 pm By JD Alois  |  

Back in April of this year, Jimubox, a young peer to peer lending platform based in Beijing, closed a funding round of $84 million.  Jimubox, founded only in August of 2013, has quickly risen to become one of the leading direct lending platforms in the… Read More

September 23, 2015 @ 9:54 am By Erin Hobey  |  

“My advice to female innovators and disruptors is to have balance in your relationships with mentors, advisors, close associates and friends that will ultimately broaden both your networks and channels to access capital. This is going to be critical as you scale, grow, and ultimately… Read More