Bambucorn Bahrain, a Bahrain-grown equity crowdfunding platform, has obtained licence from the Central Bank of Bahrain to carry out activities of Ancillary Service Provider – Crowdfunding Platform Operator. 

 

Bambucorn, supported by the Bahrain Economic Development Board (Bahrain EDB), will enable startups, SMEs and real estate projects to raise equity from both accredited and retail investors.

 

The licence from CBB will effectively enable Bambucorn to raise capital for issuers in Bahrain and those located outside Bahrain. One of Bambucorn's group companies is already licensed by the Dubai Financial Services Authority to operate an equity crowdfunding platform in the UAE. 

 

Fintech ecosystem

The new licence further signifies the group's commitment to contributing to the region's growing Fintech ecosystem.

 

Fareed Bader, Co-founder and Chairman of Bambucorn Group commented: "Bahrain has always been at the forefront when it comes to Fintech and the regulators are playing a pivotal role in ensuring that investors' interests are adequately protected whilst at the same time providing enough opportunities for innovative Fintech companies to flourish in the country. We certainly look forward to working alongside all stakeholders to optimise the capital raising exercise for startups, SMEs and real estate projects."

 

Narayanan Ganapathy, Co-founder of Bambucorn Bahrain commented: "Capital allocation has always been a challenge and oftentimes tricky, particularly when it comes to early-stage investments. Providing both accredited and retail investors the ability to write smaller checks towards early-stage ventures and real estate opportunities helps investors diversify their portfolios. Businesses looking to gain customer loyalty can resort to crowdfunding, providing their customers the ability to acquire equity interests in them through the platform. The CBB licence certainly strengthens Bambucorn's foothold in the region as an innovative Fintech company."

 

Robust financial regulatory system

Dalal Buhejji, Executive Director of Business Development – Financial Services, said: "Bahrain’s forward-looking regulators consistently made it the first choice for Fintech companies setting up in this region. We're happy to see Bambucorn receive its licence from the CBB, which is a testament to our robust financial regulatory system that has enabled many companies to innovate in Bahrain and serve the wider region."

 

Bahrain offers technology and financial services disruptors a gateway to the Gulf markets, providing traditional banking institutions, FinTech startups, and scaleups a collaborative space to test and scale new products across the entire region. Developing the FinTech subsector in Bahrain is one of the priorities under the Financial Services Sector's Development Strategy that comes as part of the National Economic Recovery Plan to drive future growth.-- TradeArabia News Service