Crowdfunding platform OurCrowd moves into Spain
♫ OurCrowd, in the middle of Spain ♫
Israeli equity crowdfunding platform OurCrowd has furthered its global expansion by opening an office in Spain, reports Julie Muhn at Finovate (Banking Technology’s sister company).
The company’s founder and CEO Jon Medved has identified Spain and the Iberian region as one of OurCrowd’s “priority markets” since Madrid is in the heart of Europe and a gateway into South America.
The Jerusalem-based firm has established a new office in Madrid’s financial district. With this expansion, OurCrowd now has offices in six countries – Israel, the US, Canada, Australia, and Singapore; and has plans in place for an office expansion to a seventh – the UK.
David Hatchwell, a leader of the Jewish community in Spain, will be the chairman of OurCrowd Iberia – the company’s new Madrid office.
“OurCrowd presents the Spanish market with a significant opportunity to taste what is happening in one of the most advanced markets in the world of tech: Israel, as well as offer other global start-up investment opportunities,” Hatchwell says.
As a part of the recent expansion, OurCrowd has formed a strategic partnership with Cardumen Capital, a Spanish Israel venture fund focused on “deep technologies”. The aim of the partnership is to offer Spanish investors “the opportunity to focus on investing in Israeli companies, building ties between Israeli and Spanish technologies”.
Cardumen’s co-founder and managing general partner, Gonzalo Martinez de Azagra says: “Our bilateral fund will invest in pure high tech companies, as we did at Samsung Ventures, and give access to institutional and corporate investors to these unique opportunities.”
Founded in 2013, the OurCrowd platform has more than 20,000 members from 112 countries. In aggregate, investors have funded more than $450 million into 120 portfolio companies and funds.
In June, the company partnered with National Bank of Australia (NAB) to provide NAB clients with direct access to OurCrowd start-up investments.
