The platform is targeting up to $2m in new funding, with cornerstone backing from a network of sophisticated investors.

Equity Crowdfunding (CSF) platform Birchal has established itself as the market-leader in Australias fast-growing CSF industry.

Now, its doing what it does best; giving investors simple access to invest in a high-growth company with scale-up ambitions but with a twist.

This time, the latest CSF raise announcement on the platform is for Birchal itself, as the company looks to consolidate its platform in whats now a major new sector in Australian capital markets.

Birchal will look to raise up to $2m in the CSF round, with cornerstone backing from a network of sophisticated investors including serial entrepreneur Dom Pym, who also co-founded the neobank UP.

With Birchal now taking expressions on interest on the platform, Stockhead caught up with Birchal Managing Director Matt Vitale to discuss the rationale for the raise and the companys outlook.

He highlighted that after 3+ years of strong growth, the business is already profitable and generating free cash-flow.

But strategically, the additional cash injection gives Birchal an opportunity to consolidate its business model as a core platform in Australias crowd funding industry.

We hosted 59 successful deals on our platform last year, so we expect that growth trend to continue. And it means we can become a very significant business over the next couple of years, Vitale said.

So the time really is now for us to accelerate into that opportunity.Since the establishment of Australias crowd funding sector in 2018, the industry has grown at around 70% annually, Vitale said.

Its now on its way to matching the UK sector, where crowd funding accounts for around 15% of broader venture capital activity.

Australia is still in its ramp-up stage, but based on the UK experience, it could be a material industry with a market size of around $500m by 2024, Vitale said.

But what we have the opportunity to do now is firmly establish crowd funding as a mainstream asset class. And when we think about what an asset class needs, it really exists on four key pillars.

To consolidate its platform, Birchal is looking to build out its platform to achieve the following four objectives;

For Vitale, the primary capital component is where Birchal has established itself as the leader in the Australian market.

Id argue the primary markets piece is probably the hardest piece of the puzzle to solve things like building an investor audience and pricing equity, Vitale said.

Its really hard and where we have an advantage is that weve been able to systemise it and repeat that success.

But for the industry to grow and be sustainable, we really need to build out an ecosystem of products and services to make crowd funding a viable and credible way for people to invest, build wealth and repeat the process recycling that capital and investing in other opportunities, he said.

So we spend a lot of time thinking about what the industry needs. What weve built is a really great origination machine, and now the market is demanding us to build these additional services.

Its actually a great place to be, and a great opportunity, and were going to deploy these funds to take advantage of it.

More broadly, Vitale said the build-out of Birchals service offering forms a key step in how crowd funding can play a key step in the future of Australias entrepreneurial economy.

I think in the early days, people thought crowd funding was primarily used by B2C companies offering products or services direct to consumers, but our experience is far broader than that, he said.

What its really driving and enabling is the growth of the entrepreneur economy, and a lot of people are really passionate about how that can contribute to Australias future.

He added that crowd funding also gives investors an effective way to allocate capital thats aligned with modern standards around ethical investing.

Weve got 130,000 users on our platform, who for the first time now have a simple and effective way to find startups that theyre interested in investing in, Vitale said.

So without getting too romantic about it, the growth of our platform is a real opportunity to change the economy and change the world from the bottom up.

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Birchal flags the next evolution of Australias crowd-funding market with marquee capital raise announcement - Stockhead

This week, a high-end launch event was attended by notable guests at Palm Jumeirah Dubai where MContent premiered their original co-productions titled "Ripple vs. SEC Saga" and "El Salvador vs. World Bank". The Cinema premier however was different from the norm as participants were seen glaring at the ocean sitting at a beach wearing their virtual reality (VR) headsets engaged in an immersive Cineverse experience.

Earlier in January 2022, the leading UAE conglomerate, Gargash Group, had announced a major investment in MContent, the world's first tokenised content ecosystem that aims to revolutionise the global content landscape. Designed to convert content viewers into content owners, the first-of-its-kind platform enables crowd funding of film production and capital-intensive content creators using Cryptocurrency, NFTs and the Cineverse. The platform has already funded 11 prominent film projects across 4 continents, and now, it plans to expedite the decentralised funding deployment in content creation using the parallel Cineverse economy.

Speaking at the event, Umair Masoom, Founder & CEO of MContent said, "The immersive cinema experience - designed in collaboration with PwC and showcased to our guests today has global scalability & mass adoption capability. By bringing the Cineverse to a global audience, MContent wants to increase funding & screening opportunities for thousands of independent film makers globally. As part of the decentralised ecosystem, MContent is launching the first-of-its-kind, fully monetised content consumption platform, aiming to drive sustainable earnings for content creators and viewers."

Reza Essop, PwC Middle East's Emerging Technology Leader believes that, "This is a brilliant example of the region's movement towards digital transformation and is very much in line with major wider initiatives such as Dubai Vision 2030. MContent has defined a practical application of emerging technology with the convergence of blockchain, NFT and extended reality (XR). We are incredibly proud to have facilitated this effort as well as enabled this vision from concept to reality and to a sustainable commercialised economy that can benefit many as well as lead the way for other out-of-the-box efforts."

The premier event was attended by GCC business community members, celebrities, film makers, influencers, NFT artists, movers & shakers, blockchain enthusiasts as well as some senior members of the Gargash Group who all became the first to experience the MContent Cineverse at the beach in virtual reality with two distinct original productions.

Also present at the occasion was Dr. Lamees Hamdan, leading Emirati entrepreneur and global opinion leader who recently accepted the position of Chairperson at MContent. On the vision of MContent Dr Lamees comments, "I love the disruptive nature of MContent, the ability of helping peoples dream become a reality. Where before there were barriers, and it was almost impossible for a small creator with big dreams to access production, studios and funding, at Mcontent we are giving the control back to the creators, where all of us are funding our own destiny and that is power. What we are seeing today is a manifestation of this new reality we are creating together."

The native token of MContent is currently trading at a Market Cap of over $100 million on more than six centralised and decentralised exchanges & the platform plans to fund 100 global projects by the end of 2022.

http://www.mcontent.net

PwC has implemented and advised organisations across all industries on virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and blockchain technology, the fundamental components of the metaverse. The firm has also invested in virtual real estate on the metaverse platform The Sandbox and uses virtual world technologies to solve business problems. Jeremy Dalton, Head of Metaverse Technologies for PwC UK, said, "We now have a more immersive way to experience virtual worlds and a transparent way to transact within them. The convergence of VR, AR and blockchain to enable the metaverse concept has created opportunities and challenges for businesses across a number of industries."

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1754628/MContent_Cineverse.jpg

SOURCE MContent

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MContent and PwC Collaborate To Showcase Cineverse to The World - PRNewswire

Our commitment to doing our part only grows stronger after seeing the life changing impact of the JLH Fund.

Kia Wells, a second round JLH Fund recipient and founder of Voices Corp., shared "Being a recipient of the JLH Fund grant has helped us to add new positions to increase capacity, scale services, and deepen our impact, as well as reduce the males in Marion County returning to the system. We are also able to increase economic mobility and both access and quality of education for our community."

Alexys Feaster, founder of The Kinship Advisors, is managing the JLH Social Impact Fund. She added, "The grantees in the JLH Social Impact Fund are immediately welcomed into this larger ecosystem, this community of support that we've built. Beyond the funding and mentorship, we have intentional partners and organizations that recognize our 360-degree model of providing funds, programming, and services. Major brands are now looking to us a leader in this space to collaborate with and build stronger communities focused on economic development."

An example of intentional collaboration is the JLH Fund's new partnership with Motorola andLenovo. The Lenovo Foundation has awarded support to the JLH Fund in the amount of a $50,000 cash donation. Motorola will donate 300 Moto G Stylus phones to help JLH Fund grantees incentivize their crowd funding campaigns and implement a "pay it forward" initiative, while also capturing content that documents their journey within their communities.

Working with Renee King, founder of FundBlackFounders, grantees receive coaching and training to expand their funding opportunities, including the creation of crowdfunding campaigns, that increase community engagement. King adds, "Jrue and Lauren are doing work that builds the foundation for these underrepresented businesses and organizations and the door is wide open for others to support them in this space."

Kara Still, founder of Prosperity Market and a second round JLH Fund recipient, shared "It is not just about the money - it's about the fact that we have a space where Black owners can be supported and uplifted."

Applications for the JLH Social Impact Fund are open now until Friday, February 25, 2022. To apply, visit http://www.jlhfund.org

For media inquiries, partnership opportunities or for more information, email [emailprotected]

About The Kinship AdvisorsThe Kinship Advisors is a Black woman-owned agency that closes the gaps and provides culturally connected strategic advisory for athletes, entertainers, and businesses resulting in greater impact in underserved communities, expanded brand development and transformative experiences. For more information, visit thekinshipadvisors.com.

About FundBlackFounders.com FundBlackFounders.comis a Black-owned and operated, socially conscious, rewards crowdfunding platform that allows everyday people to fund Black-owned businesses from start to profitability.

SOURCE Jrue and Lauren Holiday Social Impact Fund

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APPLICATIONS ARE OPEN FOR THE JRUE AND LAUREN HOLIDAY SOCIAL IMPACT FUND PROVIDING UP TO $1,000,000 TO BLACK-OWNED BUSINESSES AND NON-PROFITS -...

Awarding 325,000 to Viva Arts for a business hub with the promise of 50 jobs has caused a backlash in Soham where a sports centre is crowd funding for 100,000 to repair its roof.

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CAPCA) signed off on the conditional loan from their 13m market towns initiative after East Cambridgeshire District Council successfully applied for the grant.

Viva narrowly won through the application process when its bid secured 75.8 per cent on an appraisal matrix (the pass rate is 75 per cent).

But it was comments made by Cllr Joshua Schumann, deputy leader at East Cambs Council, at the CAPCA board meeting that has enraged some residents.

Cllr Schumann said the location of the proposed new hub at Spencer Mill and next to the rail station was ideal.

"Very close to Spencer Mill is a small cluster of industrial units, which have become in state of disrepair and become unviable, he said.

Photo of Ross Peers sports centre roof being used in 100,000 crowdfunding repair plea- Credit: Ross Peers

Viva would develop that area, he said, and it would be helped enormously by the improved connectivity the station offered.

Mayor Dr Nik Johnson told him: You sound very passionate about it.

But one businessman wants to know Did you engage with any of the existing businesses prior to putting in the grant application with regard to how they could benefit or assist in your proposal?

Could you also address the issue raised around the parking and access to the mill?

Like most I would agree that money invested in Soham is beneficial.

Visualisation of Spencer Mill fully completed- Credit: Viva

But also like most I can't understand why existing facilities such as Ross Peers are having to crowd fund to repair their roof whilst money's invested elsewhere.

Would it not make sense for local council to invest in improving already existing community facilities?

Another resident felt that if the units had been empty for years how about repairing them and giving them to new businesses or businesses that are looking for new big units to rent?

And one other resident questioned why more help could not be found for the Ross Peers.

Our only multi sports facility and possible established community hub, Ross Peers is crowd funding for a new roof, said the resident.

Spencer Mill before its acquisition by Viva Arts- Credit: CCC

Isn't that where our district councillors should be directing their passion for grants?

Ross Sports has launched its crowdfunding bid for 100,000 and says it is looking at different ways of finding this sum.

So far, the fund has raised 145.

You can donate here

Cllr Schumann told one post on a Soham Facebook page that Im sure you have seen and appreciate that we have sadly lost a number of employment and industrial units around Mereside and many of these have been empty for some time.

I did not aim my comments directly at yours or any business and Im delighted that you and your business are doing well - long may that continue,

The more local employment the better, that is something which I will always welcome and support.

He added: Grant funding to support employment is available to a wide range of businesses and business people and Im sure youll join me in being pleased to see money being spent in Soham and the surrounding areas.

New look to Soham with opening day of Soham station last December- Credit: Archant

CAPCA says its 13m market towns fund is to ensure our towns remain vibrant and thriving places.

Hewdon Consulting Ltd of London drew up the appraisal report that recommended the Viva award.

If successful they are proposing to build a 3-floor extension to create flexible office space and enhance the functionality and facilities of all three floors, said their report.

This office space will be let to various groups from theatre goers, training providers, to business organisations and will help to secure a daytime income stream as opposed to solely an evening one, for the charity.

However, the 325,000 is conditional and Viva has been told to submit a suitable business case showing the rational for the project.

Viva will also be tasked with demonstrating how the 50 jobs are expected to be delivered by the project and where demand for the space is expected to come from.

Mayor Dr Nik Johnson at re-opening of Soham station. It was paid for by more than 20m provided by the combined authority (CAPCA)- Credit: Archant

They will also have to submit evidence of subsidy control (state aid) compliance and a detailed cost break down with details of a tender process and at least three quotations sought.

CAPCA says it also wants confirmation that all project revenue costs and any capital cost overrun will be met by Viva Arts and Community Group.

Viva told CAPCA it hopes to have been the project completed by December this year although Hewdon pointed out that planning has not yet been secured and contractors are still to be appointed.

The project is expected to be completed by December 2022.

The application was not submitted with a business plan showing how it will operate; source tenants from; and what its operating costs / charges are, says Hewdon.

And referencing risks, it adds that without the benefit of a business plan it is not clear how a community arts charity proposes to run a commercial operation providing business space with all the VAT and landlord and tenant obligations that accompany this.

Hewdon says the building extension is modest and should be relatively straight forward to deliver but it is still in the early stages of development.

The project is said to align strongly with CAPCAS opening up our town through better connectivity' theme following the opening of the new rail station.

The Town Plan aspires to use this an opportunity to attract businesses to base themselves here and develop the area around the station which this project will support, says Hewdon.

It says Viva Arts and Community Group have provided a list of grants received from March 2019 totalling 1.9m.

The new subsidy control bill has not yet received Royal ascent but has had its 1st reading in the Lords, says Hewdon.

The current bill permits 'services of public economic interest' at varying levels up to 15m.

If supported, an appropriate state aid (subsidy control) report is needed from the Arts group showing its compliance.

Viva says they do not propose match funding for this phase of the Mill redevelopment.

East Cambs Council leader Anna Bailey tweeted over the weekend that her party has a proposal coming to full council this month.

It will, if agreed, make capital funds available to support leisure centres in the district.

The rest is here:
Soham businesses react angrily to claims of being run down - Ely Standard