Do you know about crowdfunding in Belgium?
Tell us what you know using the comment below.
Role of alternative finance
Overall size of the market:
With 37m EUR in 2015, Belgium is the 7th largest Crowdfunding market in Europe. The Market Volume Per Capita is € 3.26.
Zhang, B. et al (2016): Sustaining Momentum. The 2nd European Alternative Finance Industry Report. Cambridge University. https://www.jbs.cam.ac.uk/fileadmin/user_upload/research/centres/alterna...
In Belgium, the size of the crowdfunding market increased tremendously from 2,5m EUR in 2014 to 37m EUR in 2015. It is expected to continue growing in 2016.
Figures 2014:
Wardrop, R., Zhang, B., Rau, R., Gray, M (2015): Moving Mainstream. The European Alter-native Finance Benchmarking Report. Studie von der Universität Cambridge in Zusammen-arbeit mit EY. Verfügbar unter: www.crowdfunding.de/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Moving-Mainstream-Alterna...
Figures 2015:
Zhang, B. et al (2016): Sustaining Momentum. The 2nd European Alternative Finance Industry Report. Cambridge University. https://www.jbs.cam.ac.uk/fileadmin/user_upload/research/centres/alterna...
Total crowdfunding platforms:
6 platforms were active in Belgium in 2014.
Source: European Commission (2015). Crowdfunding: mapping EU markets and events study. 30th of September
Crowdfunding Platforms specialising on R&I:
There are two platforms dedicated to R&I: one platform is dedicated to technology and IT, while the other focuses on innovative startups.
Source: http://crowdfunding4innovation.eu/platforms?f[0]=field_base_country%3A1&...
| Evidence | |
|---|---|
| Equity-based crowdfunding | Approximately €2,5 million is raised by equity based crowdfunding. |
| Reward and donation-based crowdfunding | Approximately €7 million have been raised in 2015, of which 1 million has been raised by donation-based crowdfunding platforms and the remaining amount by rewards-based platforms. |
| Lending crowdfunding | Approximately €4,5 million in 2015. |
| Others | Compared to other countries in Europe (excluding UK), Belgium is the largest market for invoice trading, with 25m EUR in 2015. |
Regulatory Context
| Evidence | |
|---|---|
| Is there a specific national regulation in place applying to crowdfunding? | No |
| General regulation | Crowdfunding Platforms facilitating direct investment in financial instruments, but under the Crowdfunding exemption for public offerings will not need to be licensed investment firms. Crowdfunding Platforms facilitating direct investment in financial instruments operating outside the Crowdfunding exemption for public offerings are likely to require a licence under the Act regulating investment services firms – authorisation and supervision by the FSMA (or Belgian National Bank, depending on the nature of their activities) save if no compensation is charged for these services. Osborne Clarke Germany (2016): Review of Crowdfunding Regulation & Market Developments. In: CrowdFundRES - Unleashing the potential of Crowdfunding for Financing Renewable Energy Projects. Deliverable 3.1 (PU). |
| Prospectus requirement | Prospectus requirement for offering investment instruments (a term broader than financial Instruments, as it encompasses contract-based debt instruments). Osborne Clarke Germany (2016): Review of Crowdfunding Regulation & Market Developments. In: CrowdFundRES - Unleashing the potential of Crowdfunding for Financing Renewable Energy Projects. Deliverable 3.1 (PU). |
Support policies
Overview:
The European Commission is launching a consultation to explore the added value of potential EU action.
http://ec.europa.eu/finance/consultations/2013/crowdfunding/index_en.htm
Main policy institution responsible in the country (ministry in charge of alternative finance):
Federal Public Service Finance - Belgian Ministry of Finance, http://finance.belgium.be/en
| Evidence | |
|---|---|
| Matching funds initiatives | |
| State-aid | |
| Tax benefits | The “Tax-Shelter” for Crowdfunding, which came into force on the 1st of July 2015, provides tax incentives for both equity-based and lending-based Crowdfunding schemes. (for equity-based crowdfunding, personal income tax reduction for equity investments in start-ups has been set up, while for lending-based crowdfunding, a tax exemption on the interests of loans to start-ups has been put in place. |
| Crowdfunding guidelines for entrepreneurs / investors | The European Commission has published a guide on Crowdfunding: https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/crowdfunding-guide_en |
| Guidelines for researchers on crowdfunding for R&I |
Other Support measures for fundraisers:
Due to the high number of regulations on the subject, the FMSA has published an online guide to help project developers and platform owners to identify the right legal scheme for their specific case.
Source: http://www.fsma.be/nl/Article/press/div/2012/2012-07-12_crowdfunding.aspx
Additional insight
Success story of crowdfunding platfroms for R&I:
NAME: CroFun
DESCRIPTION: Crofun is a crowdfunding and investing platform for creative, social, and innovative business projects. It claims to be the first crowdfunding platform that enables the creation of the perfect mix of different types of crowdfunding such as donations, crowd-lending, crowd-bonds, and crowd shares, depending on the local laws of the country.
LINK: https://www.crofun.com/en/
Success story of crowdfunding projects for R&I:
PROJECT NAME: TapFruit
PLATFORM: Angel.me
DESCRIPTION: TapFruit is a juice made from pure fruit grown in the Netherlands. By adding it to tap water, drinking tap water is more attractive. The goal of the project is to reduce the number of plastic bottles usually used by consumers. TapFruit has been conceived as a substitute for bottled beverages. The project has a good animated presentation available on YouTube, and all the infographics are clear and catchy. The strength of the project lies in the good marketing campaign built around it, such as the promotional rewards for financers.
AMOUNT RAISED: € 5,560 OUT OF € 5,000
LINK: https://www.angel.me/project/tapfruit