PRESS RELEASE MyMicroInvest: an influential 2016 year that laid the foundations for 2017. Brussels, June 16 2017 In 2016, MyMicroInvest has continued to build up its activities and, as the market leader, to give shape to the market. The valuable foundations laid in 2016 are already surfacing in the 2017 first-quarter. During 2016, MyMicroInvest raised 17,800,000 through 28 projects (vs 6,000,000 among 23 projects in 2015) and has already been able to secure a very promising pipeline for the upcoming months by contracting 28 projects for the coming year. As for most startups this growth isn t visible in the financials just yet. Indeed, the company focuses on the long term which is why MyMicroInvest has secured an important capital increase of 2,500,000 thanks to a successful financing round ( 1,600,000 from the crowd in less than an hour). 2016 has been a year of considerable investment in our platform, in our processes and in our teams declared Olivier de Duve, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer. By closing some promising deals at the end of 2016 and by being able to populate a strong pipeline through interesting new partnerships, we expect to further grow our activities throughout 2017. Shaping the market As a leading investment platform in the Belgian landscape, MyMicroInvest has been continuously shaping the market for start-up investing by democratising the access to venture capital. Since its creation, the company has aimed at setting high standards for its sector - a great example of the company s achievements has been the enforcement of a dedicated legal structure for the start-ups it finances, ensuring that each funded company is isolated from the others thanks to dedicated compartments.
Another example is the accreditation by the FSMA. After weeks of extensive teamwork, MyMicroInvest became the first crowdfunding platform in Belgium to receive official accreditation from the Financial Services and Markets Authority. This enabled the company to offer Tax Shelter opportunities legally to all its investors. Like every other start-up in its first years of creation, MyMicroInvest is constantly working on developing its offer and its platform in order to answer the needs of an evolving market. And despite the delay in the Tax Shelter implementation, its efforts are reflected in the growing level of its activity (already 60% of the 2016 activity has been reached during the first quarter of 2017) and the optimisation of its strategy through new partnerships. Tax Shelter as an incentive for investors The Startup Tax Shelter for crowdfunding was launched on February 1st, a year later than expected. Since then, they have been able to offer Tax Shelter to their investors through five eligible campaigns that have raised in average twice as much as ordinary campaigns and have also attracted in average twice the number of investors. MyMicroInvest wanted investors to fully understand the Tax Shelter opportunities and therefore created a dedicated website and ebook on the subject. MyMicroInvest has noticed a clear demand from investors for Tax Shelter opportunities but also the investor s awareness of the risks associated to investing and hence a need for diversification. A new year, a new strategy As an established leader on the market, MyMicroInvest acknowledges that equity investment bears in general its fair share of risk. The company is very committed to providing interesting products to its investors while at the same time educating them about the benefits of diversification. That s why, as part of the constant evolution of its strategy MyMicroInvest intends to expand its partnerships with incubators to offer a diversified way to invest in qualified investment opportunities. We believe that investing in today s start-ups can finance tomorrow s economy by creating new jobs. This is best achieved by offering our investors a method to easily diversify their investments in start-ups and scale-ups and to create their own portfolio. This is the best way to align their interests with our ambition to accelerate the real economy, explained Olivier de Duve.
The first partner is Startup Factory, a disruptive and successful start-up studio incubator that will be offering, alongside MyMicroInvest, the opportunity to invest in 5 projects in 2017 and 10 projects in 2018. Our track record shows that we are moving forward together, with our investors and entrepreneurs, in a supportive way to create employment and to add value to our selected projects. All of the indicators clearly show that debt and equity investing, both offered by MyMicroInvest, are essential in the current financial landscape and are recognised by experts as true financial alternatives. And we are proud to be considered as a leading actor in this industry concluded Olivier de Duve. The company is confident that, with a strong pipeline, continuous innovation and constant efforts to educate investors, MyMicroInvest will be able to continue its growth throughout 2017. Its main focus will be to steadily and strongly grow its activity level and to continue to invest in the future while remaining a leader in their field. About MyMicroInvest MyMicroInvest is a crowdfunding platform that allows growing start-ups and companies to receive financing from a unique crowd of investors, from private individuals to industry professionals. MyMicroInvest also enables investors to partner up with professionals to support entrepreneurship thanks to minimum investments of 100. MyMicroInvest s overall mission is supporting entrepreneurs and enabling everyone to take part in the success of tomorrow s companies. MyMicroInvest is established in the heart of Brussels with an international team, passionate about entrepreneurship and financing. Press contacts Press in French/English : Marie CRUYSMANS marie@mymicroinvest.com +32 494 33 14 02 Press in Dutch/English : Jonathan PIEPERS jonathan@mymicroinvest.com +32 472 31 54 02
An overview of Key Numbers 17,800,000 Money raised in 2016 28 Campaigns in 2016 2,550 Fundraising applications submitted in 2016 25% Share of lending campaigns 1,408 Average investment per transaction 450+ Jobs created 37,783+ Members to date 24 Employees 72% Male / 28% Female Investor gender 40,276,931 invested in 70 companies since MyMicroInvest s creation.
Supported industries Health Food 13,03% Consumer Goods 17,4% Information Technology & Electronics Sports & leisure Education Financial & Insurance Services 13,04% Other Media & Entertainment 13,03% Tourism & Transport Energy & Utilities