Karsten Wenzlaff, Advisor
August 26th, 2025
Karsten Wenzlaff is a Crowdfunding and Fintech Expert from Germany. He is Secretary-General of Digit[...]
Category Archives: Equity Crowdfunding, Alternative Funding
#CCS2017 Industry Leaders Connect at 3rd Annual NCFA Fintech & Funding Summit
NCFA Canada | CCS2017 Committee | March 10, 2017
NCFAs Fintech & Funding Industry Conference - A Great Success!
The National Crowdfunding Association of Canada (NCFA Canada) is a cross-Canada non-profit actively engaged with both social and investment crowdfunding stakeholders across the country. NCFA Canada provides education, research, leadership, support and networking opportunities to over 1500+ members and works closely with industry, government, academia, community and eco-system partners and affiliates to create a strong and vibrant crowdfunding industry in Canada. Learn more at ncfacanada.org.
Fineqia Announces Chairman of the Board: London Stock Exchange AIM’s Ex-Head
PRN Newswire | Fineqia International | Feb 27, 2017
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, February 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -
Fineqia International Inc. (the "Company" or "Fineqia") (CSE: FNQ) (OTCPink:FNQQF) (Frankfurt: FNQA) is pleased to announce the appointment of Martin Graham as its new Chairman with effect from February 27, 2017.
Bundeep Singh Rangar, the Company's current Chairman, invited Mr. Graham to join Fineqia's Board given his extensive experience in transacting equity and debt securities, wealth management as well as the development and governance of stock exchanges worldwide. Mr. Rangar will step aside as Chairman and, in addition to his current role as CEO, will be appointed President of the Company.
Mr. Graham has a notable career in the financial services industry. Between 2003 and 2009, he was Director of Markets at London Stock Exchange PLC (LSE) and Head of the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) where he had direct responsibility for more than $500 million CAD of revenue and 75% of group profit. He led LSE's transformational growth strategy focused on driving market efficiency, resulting in a five-fold increase in market size between 2003 and 2008. Furthermore, Mr. Graham was instrumental in building LSE's international franchise, which significantly outperformed its main competitors.
"Martin will help steer Fineqia's growth within evolving regulation and a rapidly changing global economic and technological landscape. His common sense approach to increase financial markets inclusion and its access to the common man is invaluable to us," said Fineqia's CEO Bundeep Singh Rangar. "There is simply no substitute for cumulated wisdom garnered from years of experience in international financial markets."
Mr. Graham is currently Chairman of Aldbourne Partners Ltd., a London-based multi-family office business and wealth management consultancy. Mr. Graham has previously been on the Board of the Moscow Stock Exchange where he was Chairman of the Board's Risk Management Committee.
See: Martin Graham to deliver Closing Keynote at 3rd Annual Canadian Crowdfinance Summit (Toronto, Mar 1): Presenting "Adapting Lessons of the Past to Financial Market Innovations of the Future
Previously, Mr. Graham held senior positions in the global financial services sector including Head of Pan European Equities and Global Head of Equity Sales at Dresdner Kleinwort Benson. He also provided specialist consultancy services to some of the world's leading General Partners in investment funds.
About Fineqia International Inc.
Fineqia's business model is to provide an online platform and associated services for the placement of debt and equity securities, initially in the UK. The platform will transparently highlight the risks and objectively outline opportunities involved. For more information visit http://www.fineqia.com.
NEITHER THE CANADIAN SECURITIES EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATORY SERVICE PROVIDER HAS REVIEWED AND DOES NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THE CONTENT OF THIS NEWS RELEASE.
For further information:
Karolina Komarnicka
Chief Marketing Officer
T: +1-(778)-654-2324
E: info@fineqia.com
W: http://www.fineqia.com
SOURCE Fineqia International Inc. (view release)
The National Crowdfunding Association of Canada (NCFA Canada) is a cross-Canada non-profit actively engaged with both social and investment crowdfunding stakeholders across the country. NCFA Canada provides education, research, leadership, support and networking opportunities to over 1500+ members and works closely with industry, government, academia, community and eco-system partners and affiliates to create a strong and vibrant crowdfunding industry in Canada. Learn more at ncfacanada.org.
Canadian EDC’s Blockchain Crowdfund Scores $0.5m In Equibits Cryptocurrency Sales
Equibit Development Corporation (EDC), a Canadian-based startup behind the Equibit blockchain and applications that is building a decentralized securities platform, has sold over US$500,000 of equibits since launching its crypto coin offering at the start of February. And, according to Chris Horlacher, EDC’s CEO, “steady interest” from investors has been seen. Primarily investment participation has come from North America, followed by Europe and Asia.
Touted as the world's first ‘peer-to-peer’ (P2P) equity marketplace and a platform for issuers to manage their investor relations without the need of depositories and transfer agents, EDC has so far sold a total of 201,885 equibits (EQB’s) - a new digital currency - to investors.
It meant that as of today (February 25) some 20% of EQB’s were confirmed as having been sold in the initial offer, with the total raised standing at $519,510 - comprising $107,588 and 349.13 bitcoin (BTC).
'Peer-To-Peer' Equity Marketplace
Horlacher, who founded EDC along with a team of blockchain development experts, explained that he conceived the idea for Equibit back in 2010 whilst serving as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at a stock brokerage start-up in Toronto, Ontario, which now manages over $4 billion in assets. As such EDC was established with the grand aim to “revolutionize” the securities industry.
“The goal was to disintermediate securities depositories and transfer agents, thus removing several layers of counterparty risk from the industry and increasing the overall efficiency of securities registration, clearing and settlement,” explains Horlacher, who began his career as an auditor with a ‘Big 4’ firm in Canada.
He added: “This in turn would lead to a far better investing experience and make the lives brokers, exchanges and the asset management community much easier.”
On this score, Equibit handles the 'issuer-investors' and 'investor-investor' relationships and includes a blockchain asset register, a communications, and Anti-Money Laundering (AML)/Know Your Client (KYC) compliance system, which prevents securities from being transferred to unauthorized parties.
Crowdfunding EDC
EDC has offered to sell one million equibits out of a total of 22 million equibits potentially available.
One might ask how this will work out exactly. Well, when new blockchains are launched, Horlacher indicated that the companies developing them “will typically divide up the native token/asset into two portions.”
Horlacher, who is certified by the Canadian Securities Institute as a partner, director and CFO, elaborated: “One of these is ‘pre-sold’ to early adopters and people planning on using the system, or those who simply support the idea and want to see it come to fruition - via an “initial coin offering. The other part is reserved for ‘miners’, people who contribute processing power to the network and are compensated by the system for their efforts.”
The offering itself started with an initial batch of 100,000 equibits priced at $2 per coin. And, it is understood that the crowdsale will adhere to a "predetermined schedule", with the price for equibits increasing with each subsequent batch being released.
See: Watch Out, the ICOs Are Coming
Specifically, the million equibits - the native token on the blockchain system that they will be launching - have been divided into ten equal segments and will be sold at "increasing price points." These start at $2 each and go up 25% with each inventory segment.
The logic for this is in order that EDC can “gauge the demand for the token” Horlacher said, as well as to reach the venture’s various fundraising targets so as to budget for a range of initiatives going forward.
Genesis Block
All equibits sold in the coin offering will be created in the EDC platform’s genesis block, constituting the inception of the system’s operation. Essentially a ‘genesis block’ is the very first block in a blockchain.
This genesis block is nevertheless described as being 'special' in the sense that the development company can control when it gets created, as well as the size of the reward that comes along with it.
Speaking to Forbes from Toronto, Horlacher explained: “In the case of Equibit, EDC will mine the genesis block and receive the first million equibits, which are being offered up in this pre-sale. And, at that point the software will be released to the public for anyone to inspect the code and start mining as well in order to win a portion of the remaining 21m equibits that will be created over an extended timeframe - just like bitcoins.”
Continue to the full article --> here
The National Crowdfunding Association of Canada (NCFA Canada) is a cross-Canada non-profit actively engaged with both social and investment crowdfunding stakeholders across the country. NCFA Canada provides education, research, leadership, support and networking opportunities to over 1500+ members and works closely with industry, government, academia, community and eco-system partners and affiliates to create a strong and vibrant crowdfunding industry in Canada. Learn more at ncfacanada.org.
So This Just Happened… RED Mountain Hits Their $10 Million Goal on Crowdfunding
Marketwired Release | Red Mountain Resort, BC | Feb 16, 2017
"Fight the Man. Own The Mountain." Powers Into Phase II: Fierce & Independent
ROSSLAND, BC--(Marketwired - February 15, 2017) - On August 22, 2016, RED Mountain Resort launched a $10 million crowdfunding campaign on StartEngine.com called "Fight the Man. Own The Mountain." This was the first time a for-profit ski resort explored equity crowdfunding and nobody at RED knew what to expect in Phase I, of the "Test The Waters" campaign. As of last Thursday morning (Feb. 9), RED hit their $10MM Reservation Goal -- an historic achievement within the North American ski industry.
"We went into this campaign feeling that these were uncharted waters," says RED CEO Howard Katkov. "But the response was immediate, passionate, and unequivocal. Our choice to plant the flag for independent skiing and snowboarding during a time of high-profile mergers and acquisitions really resonated."
CCS2017 Mar 1: Register and Learn how to Raise capital cross-border with a multi-pronged equity - perk deals
Since launch, "Fight the Man. Own The Mountain." has been featured many times in the mainstream press across North America, and has been covered extensively by ski and snowboard outlets. The videos created for the campaign have so far received over half a million views.
Equity crowdfunding is a new style of investment and RED's choice to accept a relatively low minimum reservation of $1,000 allowed "everyone from lifties to Learjet owners" to make a reservation for this unique equity financing campaign. (And they did!) RED's campaign on StartEngine will continue to take reservations as they prepare their auditing and legal documents to be provided to investors for Phase II, which is scheduled to launch in the Fall of 2017.
"Our goal was to hit $10 million in reservations by April, but we managed to hit that number months in advance. We now sincerely hope that a large percentage of the RED fans that pledged their support will convert their reservations to a real investment when the Phase II launches this fall," says Katkov.
There are two exciting aspects of "Fight the Man. Own The Mountain." in investment terms. The first is the "Last In, First Out" feature. What this means is that investors in Phase II -- whether they're in for $1,000, $25,000 or more -- would receive their investment back before all previous equity investors. The second is the "rewards" associated with each level of investment, from lift tickets, custom skis or snowboards, season and family passes and access to a purpose-built clubhouse and overnight cabins. These rewards are laid out in the StartEngine platform.
RED Mountain is the oldest ski resort in Western Canada and has been the site of many firsts: First World Cup ski race in Canada; one of the largest terrain expansions in North America in over 40 years… This campaign marks another first -- the opportunity through equity crowdfunding to own a slice of world-class ski resort for as little as $1,000.
"The groundswell of support from the snow community, the press, and investors has been nothing short of astonishing," says Katkov. "The success of the campaign, thus far, has been a nice reminder of just how passionate and free-spirited the ski and snowboard community really is. It's been an incredible winter so far and I've had a number of guests come up to me and say they booked their ski week at RED after hearing about us through the campaign. Some of them invested, some of them didn't, but all of them sensed that we have something special going on in Rossland and needed to check it out in person. And to us, that means more than anything. We can't wait for what the future holds."
Visit RED's Crowdfunding campaign page here
RED Mountain Resort
RED is the last great, unspoiled resort. Located in Rossland, BC, 1st stop on Canada's famous Powder Highway, RED delivers 2,877 acres of pristine, unfettered skiing. RED recently added nearly 1,000 acres of intermediate to advanced terrain on Grey Mountain. With 7.6m of annual snowfall, (cheap!) in-bounds cat-skiing, and the friendliest locals around, it's no wonder the New York Times voted us their #8 "Best Place in the World to Visit in 2013." Other recent wins include Powder's "Ski Town Throwdown," and "Most Underrated Resort" by Skiing. Fresh turns that you don't have to fight for -- that's RED.
Source: Red Mountain Resort Release
The National Crowdfunding Association of Canada (NCFA Canada) is a cross-Canada non-profit actively engaged with both social and investment crowdfunding stakeholders across the country. NCFA Canada provides education, research, leadership, support and networking opportunities to over 1500+ members and works closely with industry, government, academia, community and eco-system partners and affiliates to create a strong and vibrant crowdfunding industry in Canada. Learn more at ncfacanada.org.
BCSC Seeking Input from BC Fintech and Tech Firms
BCSC | Alison Walker | Jan 24, 2017
Vancouver - The British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) today released an online survey, published a new tech industry webpage, and announced a dedicated Tech Team as a part of its ongoing outreach aimed at BC fintech and tech companies as well as other stakeholders active in these sectors.
"The BCSC supports innovation and the adoption of new technologies in the financial services sector," said Brenda Leong, BCSC Chair and CEO. "We understand that early-stage companies need access to capital and a clear regulatory framework to operate in. Through our Tech Team's active outreach, we will broaden our knowledge and understanding of the impacts of regulation, and provide fintech and tech companies with resources and information to help them succeed."
The BCSC invites anyone involved in the BC Tech industry to complete the survey. We are interested in hearing from all those willing to contribute their ideas and experience in an effort to learn more about this dynamic sector. The survey will be open until February 21, 2017. The BCSC will use information gathered from the survey and its ongoing outreach work to determine next steps.
Fintech is growing in British Columbia and together with the broader tech sector is developing innovative approaches to delivering financial and other services. The online survey and new webpage build on the work the BCSC has been doing to support emerging investment advisory services, crowdfunding platforms, and online marketplace lenders.
Currently, the BCSC has registered 10 robo-advisory firms, exempted seven firms from registration as crowdfunding portals, and registered a further nine portals as exempt market dealers. The BCSC also works with other Canadian securities regulators to support fintech industry growth by facilitating timely and harmonized reviews of registration and exemptive relief applications.
"Our aim is to work with stakeholders to provide flexible and balanced regulation for innovative business models," Leong said. "We also need to assess whether securities regulations are keeping pace with the evolving tech landscape."
Those interested in taking the survey will find it on the new tech industry page, which consolidates guidance and resources the BCSC has produced over the years, and provides contact information for BCSC's Tech Team. The webpage is a good starting point for those seeking to learn more about how securities regulation intersects with BC's tech sector.
About the British Columbia Securities Commission (www.bcsc.bc.ca)
The British Columbia Securities Commission is the independent provincial government agency responsible for regulating capital markets in British Columbia through the administration of the Securities Act. Our mission is to protect and promote the public interest by fostering:
- A securities market that is fair and warrants public confidence
- A dynamic and competitive securities industry that provides investment opportunities and access to capital
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Media Contact:
Alison Walker
604-899-6713
Public inquiries:
604-899-6854 or 1-800-373-6393 (toll free)
inquiries@bcsc.bc.ca
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The National Crowdfunding Association of Canada (NCFA Canada) is a cross-Canada non-profit actively engaged with both social and investment crowdfunding stakeholders across the country. NCFA Canada provides education, research, leadership, support and networking opportunities to over 1500+ members and works closely with industry, government, academia, community and eco-system partners and affiliates to create a strong and vibrant crowdfunding industry in Canada. Learn more at ncfacanada.org.
For crowdfunding to succeed, we must level the playing field
Globe and Mail | Robert Keller and Michael Motala | Jan 21, 2017
Robert Keller is a senior securities lawyer with experience in regulation and private practice in both Canada and the United States; Michael Motala is a member of the Overseas Press Club of America studying at Columbia University and Osgoode Hall Law School.
The first anniversary of Canada’s crowdfunding rules is upon us, and the infant regime’s annual performance has been disappointing in global comparison. To enhance our national competitiveness, securities regulators must heed the industry’s demands for harmonized regulation and, in particular, address disparities between crowdfunding and similar sectors of alternative finance.
The National Crowdfunding Association of Canada (NCFA) recently estimated that, in 2016, Canadian crowdfunding raised $190-million, with capital formation growing 48 per cent from 2013-15. Yet, only a handful of companies have made use of the new crowdfunding rules, and the market’s growth pales in comparison with our British and American peers. Alternative-finance professionals blame Canada’s inefficient, onerous and regionally inconsistent regulatory landscape for the slower uptake.
Free Download: Canada's most comprehensive report on Alternative Finance Crowdfunding in Canada
According to the NCFA, the United States and Britain have projected alternative-finance volumes of $36-billion (U.S.) and £3.2-billion respectively. Even when adjusted for our much smaller population, Canada’s crowdfunding market has underperformed, and this poses a risk to our international competitiveness by potentially limiting the growth of Canada’s most innovative small- and medium-sized businesses.
Canada’s complex securities-regulation regime is an outlier in the OECD world, and a burden for investors and firms looking to raise capital here, particularly small- and medium-sized enterprises. The securities industry has called upon the Ontario Securities Commission and other provincial regulators to remove unnecessary burdens and harmonize confusing regulations. Similarly, regulators should also turn their attention to the inconsistent regulations governing certain types of social impact investing, which is arguably a specialized type of crowdfunding.
Social impact investing capitalizes new and innovative startups that seek to solve social and environmental challenges. Like crowdfunding portals, social impact investment hubs connect socially inclined issuers with like-minded investors, usually to raise a relatively small amount of seed capital, with the advantage of avoiding the often more costly and regulation-heavy mechanisms of traditional capital markets. Canada’s leading hub, the Social Venture Connection (SVX), is a not-for-profit venture that went live 2 1/2 years ago. Already, similar ventures are receiving international attention, but little is known about the SVX among the broader Canadian public.
Part of the problem is that the gatekeepers to the social impact investment market, and SVX in particular, seem overzealous.
Don't Miss: 2017 Canadian Crowdfinance Summit (Save 40% Until Jan 31)
Prospective investors face a significant regulatory hurdle when it comes to SVX: Each must qualify as an “accredited investor” under applicable provincial securities law. This means that individuals generally need a net worth of at least $1-million (Canadian), or an annual income of at least $200,000 for the previous two years.
By contrast, anyone may invest in issuers raising capital under the crowdfunding rules. While restrictions limit how much an individual can invest in crowdfunded ventures – namely, a maximum of $2,500 a distribution, and no more than $10,000 per year – the playing field is open to all.
Presumably, in 2013, when regulators approved the SVX, they believed that only wealthy investors could sustain the potential losses relating to the high-risk investments that the SVX was expected to offer. Accredited investor restrictions were imposed essentially to protect non-wealthy investors from themselves. However, beginning in January, 2016, Canada’s crowdfunding rules went into effect, and arguably, the ventures that seek funding under those rules carry risks commensurate with those of SVX-based ventures.
Continue to the full article --> here
The National Crowdfunding Association of Canada (NCFA Canada) is a cross-Canada non-profit actively engaged with both social and investment crowdfunding stakeholders across the country. NCFA Canada provides education, research, leadership, support and networking opportunities to over 1500+ members and works closely with industry, government, academia, community and eco-system partners and affiliates to create a strong and vibrant crowdfunding industry in Canada. Learn more at ncfacanada.org.
Crowdmatrix Helps Usher in Era of Equity Crowdfunding
Techvibes | Brenda Bouw | Jan 20, 2017
The National Crowdfunding Association of Canada (NCFA Canada) is a cross-Canada non-profit actively engaged with both social and investment crowdfunding stakeholders across the country. NCFA Canada provides education, research, leadership, support and networking opportunities to over 1500+ members and works closely with industry, government, academia, community and eco-system partners and affiliates to create a strong and vibrant crowdfunding industry in Canada. Learn more at ncfacanada.org.
