New Australian crowd-funding platform set for launch

It comes at a time when the government is considering recommendations from a report on equity crowdfunding by the Corporations and Market Advisory Committee (CAMAC).

Equitise is the second crowdfunding platform to be set up in Australia, alllowing start-ups to tap sophisticated retail investors for capital in return for equity. These platforms are viewed as an alternative source of capital in a country that has suffered from a dearth in early stage VC investment - in part due to its superannuation funds pulling away from the asset class.

This latest platform - which has already received backing from financial services sector investor AWI - is being launched by Chris Gilber, a former Deloitte senior analyst and Search Party operation manager, along with his business partner Jonny Wilkinson.

"When I was at Deloitte and other businesses, I came to realise there was a huge problem with corporate funding in Australia," Gilbert told StartupSmart. "Initially we're using a pure equity crowdfunding model with funding upon completion of projects. So if projects don't get finished, funds get returned."

He added that he hoped the platform would help educate investors and entrepreneurs to make early-stage capital markets more efficient. Equitise's launch comes seven months after early-stage venture capital firm Artesian revealed it was launching it own platform - VentureCrowd.

Current regulations only allow startups to offer equity to investors with more than A$2.5 million ($2.3 million) in investable assets or annual earnings of around A$250,000. However the CAMAC report released last month recommends opening investment up to anyone over 18, with a cap of A$2,500 per company, to a total of A$10,000 each year.

The government is expected to announce its official position in October. "The Government needs to take what CAMAC has said and quickly pass the legislation and encourage ASIC to move fast so Australia doesn't fall behind the rest of the world," said Gilbert.

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• Topics
• Early-stage
• Australasia
• Fundraising
• Venture
• seed
• Australia
• Fundraising