If the crowdfunding market in Europe is to continue to develop, it needs an EU-wide framework, says Jörg Rocholl, President and Professor of Finance at ESMT Berlin.

Marine bycatch prevention company Fishtek Marine has netted its full £900,000 impact investment crowdfunding via the Triodos Bank UK crowdfunding platform.  The equity raise for shares in the organisation is enabling Fishtek to develop its range of products, conduct more live sea trials and help enhance global awareness.

London-based STEAM (science, technology, engineering, the arts and maths) learning pioneers OKIDO and OjO, have raised £18,800 on Kickstarter, exceeding their target of £15,000.

Specialist property peer-to-peer lender CrowdProperty has hit two more major milestones after fully funding the 92nd project on the CrowdProperty platform. CrowdProperty has now funded the development of 600 Great British homes, worth over £100,000,000 having lent almost £40 million.

OurCrowd, a leading global investment platform and Israel’s most active venture investor, has announced a new strategic relationship with NOAH Advisors, a leading European corporate finance boutique and organizer of the NOAH Conferences. NOAH Advisors will support OurCrowd in expanding its European deal flow into top European startups, in countries such as Germany, Switzerland, and the UK. 

Product Guru, an online platform described as ‘Tinder for retail buyers and product suppliers’, has secured a £300,000 investment.

The Scottish company has received financial backing from Asia-based retail technology investor Belmond Capital, Scottish retailer Scotmid and Scottish Enterprise.

Buyers from high street retailers including John Lewis, Tesco and TK Maxx have already signed up to use the technology platform, which allows their buyers to find new products for their shelves.

In his second article, James Murdoch considers the substantive advantages of SEIS/EIS for UK investors and whether the administrative aspects of these reduce some of the benefits or add to the risk of investing.

Over 5 years, I have built up what I am told is a significant number of investments in start-up via the platforms and AngelNews has invited me to share some of the data and insights I gain as I continue my journey into the equity crowdfunding world. This article is by way of introduction and I look forward to sharing some reflections on at least a monthly basis.

Following the publication of research suggesting that women are more successful than men when it comes to crowdfunding for scientific research, Juliet Eccleston, co-founder and CEO of AnyGood?, has warned that these results illustrate the shocking level of unconscious bias that still exists in us all – and the pressing need for change.

Klook, a world-leading travel activities and services booking platform, has announced it has raised US$225M in Series D+ funding. This increases the company’s total Series D funding round to US$425M. The SoftBank Vision Fund led the round with participation from existing investors, including Sequoia China, Matrix Partners, TCV, and OurCrowd. This represents the largest financing in the global travel activities and services industry.

AI-based technology startup Liopa has completed a very successful fund-raising campaign on the SyndicateRoom crowdfunding website. The company raising 2.5 times the target amount in a 4 week period. It received strong backing from a number of angel investors and the Fund Twenty8 EIS fund.

A British entrepreneur has seen his company achieve its £500,000 crowdfunding target, giving it the green light to roll-out technology to reduce the 16 million metric tonnes of Nitrous Oxide produced by the US transportation sector annually.

Daniel Mitchell’s company addvantage USA Ltd says the technology, which has already been proven in Europe, can help American haulage companies reduce the diesel consumption of their vehicles by up to 17.6% and reduce NOx emissions by up to 83%. Mitchell is a former Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year and his last company was part of the Virgin Fast Track 100.