site.btaBulgarian Stock Exchange Launches Country's First Equity Crowdfunding Platform for Startups

The Bulgarian Stock Exchange (BSE) has launched Bulgaria's first equity crowdfunding platform, SpaceCrowd, for startups and early-stage business ideas. The platform was officially presented by BSE’s CEO, Manyu Moravenov.

The crowdfunding platform was developed by BSE and the Central Depository.

Moravenov explained that until 2022, the crowdfunding market in Bulgaria was not regulated, but by nature, it is profitable when there is access to a wide range of investors.

The Beam market showed that there is investor interest in young companies in Bulgaria, Moravenov pointed out. He added that many startup companies are not mature enough to meet the criteria for the "Beam" market but have potential and could attract investor interest.

The Beam market was the first platform in Bulgaria to offer venture funding for innovative companies.

The new platform is suitable for companies with growth potential, even though they are small, but it is believed that they can attract investor interest, and they may have already received investment from private investors but need additional support, Moravenov explained.

"We are targeting companies looking to raise between BGN 200,000 and 2 million," he added.

According to him, companies eligible for funding through the platform must be joint-stock companies, and the investors participating will be clients of investment intermediaries and the platform itself. He believes that through this mechanism, the platform will quickly gather an initial group of investors who will participate in projects.

"The first phase will start with equity capital, and at a later stage, we do not exclude the possibility of including loans and bonds," said the BSE CEO.

He outlined the advantages for investors—this will allow them to invest in innovative companies in the private equity field of venture financing.

Companies wishing to raise capital will apply through the platform. They will be able to submit initial data and the necessary information that BSE requires to assess whether they are suitable for raising capital via this platform. Once approved, the company will have a profile, and all platform users will have access to its documents and be able to invest.