The first internet platform for group investment Ventu.rs has started working in Serbia, where small and medium enterprises, as well as local and startup companies and other small businesses can apply and thus find those who would like to invest in them.
Through the platform for “crowdinvesting”, citizens and companies in Serbia can invest in domestic, local companies, as well as technology startups with potential for growth. The option for companies so far has been either going to the bank or trying to find an investor, which was not easy, and it is precisely safer and easier access to investors that this platform offers.
“The idea is for companies to contact us, and our platform will be a loudspeaker for a large group of interested investors. Our role is to check everything so that some frauds do not occur. A legal and business analysis is done for everyone who applies, and when everything is finished and a business plan is made, a campaign begins in which we invite investors,” said Luka Pejovic, director of Ventu.rs
The campaign succeeded, he says, if a sufficient number of investors show up, if the campaign does not go well, the investors get their money back.
“Investors borrow money, get a fixed interest rate and a part of the bonus interest that is related to the success, ie the business result of the company. When the contract is signed, the repayment begins, and it lasts from three to seven years,” said Pejovic and noted that Ventu.rs is not necessarily an alternative to bank loans, but a great addition to what exists on the market. The minimum amount that someone, whether a legal or natural person, can invest is 100 euros.
The company Bubaja is the first domestic company that will raise funds for business financing in this way, and its director and founder Veljko Milicevic said that they are engaged in food production, making cakes, pastries, juices, porridge.
“We planned to appear shyly on the foreign market and listen to the mood for our cakes. New products and a change in packaging are also planned, so that we can additionally profile ourselves as healthy food,” Milicevic emphasized.
The realization of this project was supported by the Austrian Development Agency and USAID’s Economic Development Cooperation Project, whose director Dragana Stanojevic said that this is an absolutely pioneering endeavor for Serbia, which has a small number of alternative financing and is mainly focused on financing through banks.
“Small, micro companies, startups do not have adequate sources of financing and that is why most of the economy relies on its own funds, which slows down work. What we present today is the first digital platform for financing in this market,” said Stanojevic, Danas reports.
