Investment Platforms and Marketplaces

June 11, 2015 @ 11:55 am By JD Alois  |  

Biz2Credit, an online direct lender, has partnered with Univision Enterprises, a media company serving Hispanic America. The agreement is to provide Latino business owners with a broad set of small business finance solutions with a branded platform: Empresitio. “We are thrilled to partner with Univision and… Read More

June 11, 2015 @ 11:02 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Hokkei, a new Cardiff based restaurant launched by two MasterChef finalists Dale Williams and Larkin Cen, recently launched an equity crowdfunding campaign to raise £275,000 on Seedrs. As previously reported, Williams and Cen are looking to share 25% of the business, which aims to flip… Read More

June 11, 2015 @ 10:42 am By JD Alois  |  

Malaysia has been at the forefront of advocating on behalf of internet finance in Southeast Asia.  This week the Securities Commission Malaysia took another step in providing greater access to capital for innovative firms by announcing six approved equity crowdfunding platforms. Revealed during the Synergy and… Read More

June 11, 2015 @ 10:01 am By JD Alois  |  

FundedByMe has received regulatory approval from the Securities Commission Malaysia to operate an equity crowdfunding platform in the Southeast Asian country.  FundedByMe, a diversified crowdfunding platform, has already set up an operation in Singapore. The company has partnered with Alix Global Sdn Bhd and is one… Read More

June 11, 2015 @ 8:37 am By JD Alois  |  

Receives “Investment Grade” Rating from Moody’s & DBRS It was not that long ago that ratings agencies looked askance at marketplace lending platforms.  Yesterday CommonBond, a marketplace lending platform that targets the student loan refinancing space, received a solid review from both Moody’s and DBRS.  Moody’s delivered… Read More

June 11, 2015 @ 8:13 am By JD Alois  |  

Eureeca, a Dubai based equity crowdfunding platform, has received regulatory approval from Securities Commission Malaysia to provide crowdfunding services. Company representatives stated their intent to set up operations in Kuala Lumpur and to use this location as a hub to expand services throughout the Southeast… Read More

June 11, 2015 @ 12:26 am By Midori Yoshimura  |  

The Malta Business Bureau and the University of Malta have signed a agreement to collaborate on developing a crowdfunding platform to finance local business ideas and projects, according to a recent story on the University of Malta’s website. The country’s Ministry for the Economy, Investment and Small Business will… Read More

June 10, 2015 @ 1:32 pm By Erin Hobey  |  

An initial public offering may be the ultimate goal for many internet start-ups, but not for Chinese peer-to-peer lender Renrendai, reported Kwong Man-ki of the South China Morning Post. “We will go for an IPO eventually, but we don’t have a timeframe. We’ll probably do… Read More

June 10, 2015 @ 12:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

Largest and Highest Rated Marketplace Securitization to Date Brings Total Issuance In Excess of $1.55 Billion SoFi, a young marketplace lending platform, has closed a $411.9 million securitization of refinanced student loans. Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s and DBRS gave the highest rated senior notes Aa2/A/AA (high) respectively. SoFi is the largest… Read More

June 10, 2015 @ 11:47 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

This week, UK equity crowdfunding platform Crowdcube announced that three of its funded club businesses have been selected as Pitch to Rich 2015 finalists. The platform declared: “We are delighted to announce that three of our #FundedClub businesses have reached the semi-finals of Richard Branson’s Pitch… Read More

June 10, 2015 @ 11:06 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Community Investment Management (“CIM”), an impact investment firm focused on marketplace lending, announced today a Clinton Global Initiative America (CGI America) Commitment to Action to provide $300 million of responsible and transparent financing to 9,500 small businesses in the United States over the next two years. CIM’s capital will be… Read More

June 10, 2015 @ 10:30 am By JD Alois  |  

Internet finance is quickly replacing brick and mortar banks. While the days of healing to your local branch to try and charm a curmudgeonly loan officer may be numbered, there is still tons of finance verticals prime for disruption.  PrimaHealth Credit is targeting one of… Read More

June 9, 2015 @ 11:14 pm By JD Alois  |  

Crowdfunder UK has just launched a new concept in crowdfunding on their platform: Community Shares. A type of hybrid mix between charity and ownership, investors in these organizations own part of an entity they believe in supporting. Community shares are only possible for co-operative societies and community… Read More

June 9, 2015 @ 1:16 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Equity crowdfunding platform, OurCrowd, announced the launch of OurCrowd First, a specialized $10 million global early stage fund focusing on seed and Pre-A round startups. With its OurCrowd First fund, the funding portal will leverage its established infrastructure to bring equity crowdfunding to approximately 20+ seed-stage companies providing OurCrowd investors… Read More

June 9, 2015 @ 11:49 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Daum Kakao, the mobile lifestyle platform company behind Kakao Talk, announced the acquisition of Tangram Design Lab, taking a 51% stake in the UX design agency. Tangram Factory, the partner company and maker of Smart Rope, will continue to operate as an independent brand, with… Read More

June 9, 2015 @ 11:29 am By JD Alois  |  

Marketplace lender LoanHero has closed a seed funding round in the amount of $1.7 million.  According to the company, the investment was led by “a New York-based investment partnership focused on early stage FinTech start-ups and included multiple local and national angel investors”.  LoanHero also… Read More

June 9, 2015 @ 10:31 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Money360, Inc., an online peer-to-peer (P2P) commercial real estate lending platform, announced that it has funded and closed a $3.1 million commercial real estate loan in Palm Desert, California. Money360 was able to expedite the closing of the loan in just 10 business days to… Read More

June 9, 2015 @ 2:03 am By Midori Yoshimura  |  

Promising to be “more than just a crowdfunding platform,” but also “an engaging community,” a new UK crowdfunding platform for businesses and investors has just launched, according to a recent press release from London Stock Exchange’s RNS. InvestDen is disrupting traditional finance by providing a unique crowdfunding… Read More

June 8, 2015 @ 10:40 pm By JD Alois  |  

The freewheeling world of peer to peer lending may come to an end later this month in the worlds largest P2P lending market. China is expected to release a regulatory regime that will tighten control of internet finance – a sector that has grown incredibly… Read More

June 8, 2015 @ 11:45 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

In an effort to help up and coming organizations get off the ground, Change.org and Indiegogo are joining forces to give step by step best practices in how to build and activate a community for causes. The platforms shared: “We’ll dive into the specific tactics and… Read More