Bolero Crowdfunding Qorus Banking Innovation Awards 2015 - Winner

Bolero Crowdfunding (BCF) is the new crowdfunding business line of KBC Securities (member of KBC Group). This business line has created an online and mobile marketplace where non-listed companies can raise funds for their venture and investors can invest directly in the capital of the company. In Belgium 236 billion EUR is sitting in bank accounts. If 1% of these funds are invested in early stage companies, this would mean: • 9,400 new companies created • 47,000 new jobs • 12% decrease in unemployment We aim to put money to work in the real economy, provide the disruptors of today and champions of industry tomorrow with the funds they need to get through the early stage of their venture and to provide investors with access to a previously inaccessible asset class. A few banks have “dipped their toes” in the crowdfunding pool however Bolero is the first broker in the world to launch an equity crowdfunding platform. With expertise in traditional corporate finance activities and retail investing in-house and an active investor base, BCF is uniquely positioned to bring the world of business angel investing to the public. Numerous crowdfunding platforms exist in Belgium focusing on collecting donations for social causes or “pre-tailing”. One competitor has a similar “financial-returns” model, however, they operate with a different underlying financial product that doesn’t allow investors to directly purchase shares in a company. Four months post launch, BCF has attracted more than 5000 members, connected 500 investors with 3 innovative Belgian companies raising the funds needed to start and expand their businesses in exchange for 4800 shares. This represents YTD 27% of the total funds raised from “the crowd” in the form of equity in Belgium this year despite not having launched until April.