OurCrowd has obtained a full Capital Market Services (CMS) license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), it said on Wednesday in a joint statement with its partner for Asia – United Overseas Bank (UOB). The license, which was awarded in end-July, enables OurCrowd to provide its services in Singapore.
Our latest approval and license in Singapore is further validation of OurCrowd’s global footprint and it’s exciting to see immediate and impactful results, thanks to our partners at UOB and the Sassoon Investment Corporation (SIC). Singapore-based investors will now have access to our portfolio of world-class startups and tap their growth potential.
Mr. Denes Ban, OurCrowd partner and managing director for Asia, said.
OurCrowd was launched in 2013 and since then has raised more than $250 million. More than 14,000 investors have used the platform to support over 100 start-up companies with funds. OwnCrowd differs from other equity crowdfunding platforms in that it invests own capital in each deal alongside crowd investors. In addition, the platform also provides post-investment support to its portfolio companies, assigns industry experts as mentors, and often takes board seats.
Jon Medved, OurCrowd Founder and CEO said,
We are proud of the rapid growth of our unique brand of equity crowdfunding and teaming up with UOB to advance the cutting edge of FinTech and the startup ecosystem in the region. As we work together, innovative Asian companies with differentiated and highly scalable technology products and services will be able to get access to another source of funding from a global investor network to jumpstart their international expansion and business development.
Through this collaboration, innovative Asian companies with differentiated and highly scalable technology products and services will now get access to another source of funding through OurCrowd’s equity crowdfunding platform. Through equity crowdfunding, they can seek relatively small investments from a large number of investors in return for equity or shares in their startup company. It provides them with the funding needed to develop their concepts, products and services into viable business models. Moreover, they can also tap into OurCrowd’s global investor network to jumpstart their international expansion and business development.
In addition, accredited investors among UOB’s clients will now have an opportunity to broaden their investments into OurCrowd’s portfolio companies and tap into a quality deal flow across the globe.
We understand the ambitions of startups and emerging enterprises and want to help them grow into sustainable businesses. In the last six months, we have trained more than 100 commercial bankers to identify and to understand the type of financing for which startups can qualify. Through our initiatives, we are well-equipped to support the startup ecosystem and help them realize their full potential.
said Janet Young, head of group channels and digitalization at UOB.
Although focused on the Asian market, UOB is present in Asia Pacific, Europe and North America. From Jerusalem, an innovative crowd-funding platform has been built up over the past 16 months led by serial entrepreneur Jon Medved. OurCrowd has raised $30.5 million to expand its reach internationally into promising markets such as China and Australia, grow its team, and build its investor network. Feeding off the strong base of Israeli tech innovation.
This more concerted effort by industry pros is paying off. OurCrowd portfolio company ReWalk Robotics, a robot-powered exoskeleton that helps paralyzed people stand and walk again, has filed for an IPO on NASDAQ. OurCrowd has a $1.3 million investment in the Masschutsetts-based robotics company.
OurCrowd has raised $30.5 million to expand its reach internationally into promising markets such as China and Australia, grow its team, and build its investor network feeding off the strong base of Israeli tech innovation. While crowd funding is still really young and relatively untested, the OurCrowd model is trying to stay ahead of the pack by assigning industry experts as mentors to the startups and taking board seats on portfolio companies.
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