In a latest development, Oneplanetcrowd, the crowdlending platform has raised €1 million in growth finance from the European Investment Fund (EIF) via the EU’s Employment and Social Innovation Programme Capacity Building Investments (EaSI) window.
The EaSI programme supports the social and employment policies of the European Union. The Programme falls under the responsibility of the European Commission and contributes to the implementation of the Europe 2020 Strategy.
Coenraad de Vries, managing director of Oneplanetcrowd, said:
“We are proud to have EIF on board, with their financial support, we can further strengthen our growth and invest in our business model to finance small sustainable SME companies. It also shows the strong and pragmatic effort of EIF (EU) in supporting the alternative finance sector, which is even more necessary in these difficult economic times due to the coronavirus.”
Notably, the financing comes in the form of a favourable loan with a term of eight years. The required equity has been strengthened as all shareholders have converted their outstanding (convertible) loans into shares, and existing crowd investors have bought additional certificates of shares from Oneplanetcrowd.
European Commission Executive Vice-President, Valdis Dombrovskis, said:
“As well as traditional bank lending, Europe needs innovative forms of financing to meet the considerable liquidity needs of its startups and SMEs. Oneplanetcrowd brings together social enterprises in need of financial backing and investors interested in sustainable investment. I am pleased that the EU can support this platform.”
Following the issue of these shares, Oneplanetcrowd is well positioned to finance its further growth. As a result of the conversion of loans, solvency increased significantly.
Based out of Amsterdam, Oneplanetcrowd was one of the first pioneers in the Netherlands with a crowdfunding platform. The Dutch platform connects innovative entrepreneurs to future-oriented investors to jointly accelerate the transition to a sustainable economy. In 2012, a start was made with small pre-sales campaigns of around €25k.
In 2019 the most extensive campaign raised €7.5 million. Oneplanetcrowd is one of the five largest platforms in the Netherlands that focus on qualitative growth by applying strict criteria for which projects are approved.
Alain Godard, Chief Executive of the EIF, said:
“In the current challenging times, access to finance has taken on even greater importance for the smallest companies in our economies. Apart from the healthcare emergency, one primary objective for the EIF is to help SMEs with the economic fallout of this crisis in any way that we can.”
Main image credits: Oneplanetcrowd
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