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European passport gives Symbid’s Dutch investors access to tech startups deals through SeedBlink
The Financial Markets Authority (AFM) recognizes the European passport of the investment platform SeedBlink for the Netherlands
- SeedBlink now also allows Symbid investors to safely invest across borders in startups
- With a local office in Rotterdam from the acquisition of Symbid, SeedBlink is extending commitment to Benelux investors
- The AFM follows the European ECSPR license for parent company SeedBlink, the European co-investment platform for tech startups.
- The European Crowdfunding Services Providers Regulation (ECSPR) protects investors through external audit and mandatory disclosures, among other things.
ROTTERDAM, 28 November 2022 - The European license is an important step in the growth strategy of SeedBlink, which recently acquired Dutch company Symbid. Symbid's Dutch investors will have access to a turnkey European investment network through the SeedBlink platform, with a focus on tech startups. "We are the first party in the Netherlands to offer such access for retail investors," states Robbin Hoogstraten, the Netherland's Manager of SeedBlink/Symbid.
The European Union is the largest single market in the world, with 450 million consumers and more than 20 million companies. However, Europe is struggling to compete in technology on the worldwide stage. Intellectual property is moving abroad because there is more capital available in the US and Asia, allowing technology startups to raise capital faster elsewhere.
The ECSPR regulation creates common crowdfunding rules and a single license for the European Union, allowing crowdfunding platforms to raise capital from across Europe, for the benefit of European companies. The regulation also ensures protection for retail investors. A licensed investment platform must meet several conditions. One is the Key Investment Information Sheet (KIIS) that each startup must prepare for each crowdfunding offering. It must outline the risks of an investment, describe investor rights and fees, and provide other relevant information.
Private individual investors are thus even better protected, which is a good thing, argues Robbin Hoogstraten, the Netherlands Manager of SeedBlink/Symbid. For SeedBlink, obtaining the license is a milestone in its European growth strategy, giving local investors access to an interesting European growth market. Robbin Hoogstraten: "We are now really pre-sorted to open up the European market of tech startups and scaleups to Dutch private investors. With a growing number of offices, including in Athens, Sofia, Bucharest and Rotterdam, SeedBlink has a strong European network to spot the best companies. Through the platform, Dutch individuals can invest in these, together with renowned venture capital investors."
SeedBlink allows investors to safely invest across borders in startups
SeedBlink, the European co-investment platform, was founded in Romania and has quickly established itself in other countries such as Bulgaria, Greece and, more recently, the Netherlands, aiming to expand in other European countries soon. The platform has now attracted more than 63,000 individual investors from 73 countries and has a portfolio of 255 funded European companies. The platform has mobilized more than €150 million in startup investments.
Carmen Sebe, CEO of SeedBlink, said: "The ECSPR license is an important milestone in our European expansion and provides us and investors with a clear framework. Allowing investment capital to flow more freely and smoothly to innovation across Europe, as a single market on the global stage, can dramatically increase the competitiveness of Europe as a whole. SeedBlink is proud to support this common goal."
Asked about the future, Sebe added: "SeedBlink allows investors to safely invest across borders in startups with a European DNA, together with a strong network of venture capital partners. 2023 is a year of expansion and consolidation for us, and our Dutch location is essential to our strategy in Western Europe, as the Netherlands offers one of the best-performing ecosystems, has the fourth highest number of startups in the EU, and the second highest share of unicorns in the EU."
Under the ECSPR license, crowdfunding providers are also allowed to set up a secondary market where investors can resell their investments, through bulletin boards where buyers and sellers can find each other. This allows investors to sell their shares if they wish. SeedBlink has already taken steps to develop that secondary market to improve liquidity for investors.
About SeedBlink
SeedBlink is a technology-specialized investment platform that enables funding of top-tier technology startups and scale-ups, with the help of individual and institutional investors. SeedBlink's mission is to build an efficient investment infrastructure for private and institutional investors to work together to finance innovative European technology companies.
SeedBlink Crowd SA has been registered with the Financial Supervision Authority Register since 03/11/2022 under the number PJR28FSFPR/400001. Contact at press@seedblink.com. Read the essential information at project or platform level before investing on the platform, available in English on the official website www.seedblink.com.
About Symbid
Symbid was founded in 2011 by a team of Dutch entrepreneurs as one of the world's first crowdfunding platforms for investors and has since built a community of 50,000 investors in startups, mainly from the Benelux. After the takeover in 2022 by SeedBlink, Symbid serves as SeedBlinks branch in the Benelux.
PublishedNovember 28, 2022
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