Crowdfunding seen as very interesting by Swedish financial authorities after a growth of EUR 86 millions (548%).

The Swedish government and the Ministry of Finance stands positive to crowdfunding, according a new crowdfunding investigation that was presented on 19:th March in the official “Grassrootsinvestigation”. In view of the strong growth of crowdfunding in recent years, the Government and the Minister of Financial Markets, Per Bolund (MP) presented a new report on crowdfunding with the purpose to ensure the quality of the market and protect its stakeholders. The report states that crowdfunding is seen as a great value for individuals and entrepreneurs.

In Sweden, crowdfunding increased by 548%, equivalent to EUR 86 millions during 2016, compared to the previous year, one of the fastest growing markets in Europe. The report includes loan-based crowdfunding as well as equity-based crowdfunding (equity crowdfunding). A report welcomed by the crowdfunding platform FundedByMe who’s been operating in the field of equity crowdfunding since 2012.

"It's good to finally have the Ministry of Finance's proposal written down on 549 pages, where they clearly take a stand on crowdfunding. The ministry also see community benefits with crowdfunding and wants to strengthen its marketplace, something that is very good for FundedByMe. Of course, the challenge is to see how quickly the proposal can go to referral, taking into account the newly proposed EU regulations. FundedByMe has been self-regulated in the last 5 years and now we can deal with very clear directives. We are very pleased that the report has been presented and it is seen as beneficial for our business." says Daniel Daboczy, CEO and co-founder of FundedByMe.

"It was also of value to hear the Minister of Financial Markets raise the value of crowdfunding at a time when more entrepreneurs seek crowdfunding as a financial option. The low interest rate has furthermore contributed to a high increase of private individuals looking for alternative investments in startups." says Michaela Berglund, CMO, FundedByMe.

The Swedish proposal presented is most likely to be reevaluated and will moreover have to take in consideration the EU Commission's draft proposal for investigation, which has recently been presented. The proposed Swedish regulation could earliest commence on 1st of May 2019. More information can be found on the Governmental website where the report can be found : http://www.regeringen.se/rattsdokument/statens-offentliga-utredningar/2018/03/sou-201820/

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