The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has granted crowdfunding licenses to SeedIn Technology and Eastern Securities Development Corporation.
This will allow both entities to act as crowdfunding intermediaries and operate crowdfunding portals, providing the country’s small, medium and emerging enterprises (SME) with more funding options.
This is part of the commission’s efforts to promote crowdfunding as a safe and sustainable investment option for Filipino investors.
SeedIn is a debt-based crowdfunding platform that facilitates lending by all types of investors, including retail investors, accredited investors, and institutional investors to Philippine-based SME borrowers.
The company’s platform matches debt issuers with its registered investors, who must have a registered bank account with a licensed Philippine financial institution.
Investors may also lend money through SeedIn Technology’s platform using funds from an overseas bank account, subject to compliance with all relevant laws, including foreign exchange requirements.
SeedIn Technology is majority-owned by Singapore-based SeedIn Technology Holding, which primarily offers management consultancy services.
Meanwhile, Eastern Securities, a duly registered stock brokerage, will be operating Round One Platform which will be the first equity-based crowdfunding platform licensed in the Philippines.
Through the platform, issuer-users can initiate and conduct fundraising campaign activities, while investor-users can commit investible funds to those campaigns.
Potential issuers through the platform must provide Eastern Securities with the details of the offering, including share price, total fundraising target, and total equity offered, among others.
Featured image: Edited from Unsplash
