Crowdfunding the revolution : towards the regulation of equity crowdfunding

Abstract: A key mechanism to unlock socio-economic development, particularly amongst young people is the active support of entrepreneurship. One of the ways of encouraging entrepreneurship is by expanding access to finance, particularly through informal channels as traditional capital and financial markets are out of reach for many, particularly in nascent industries or for emerging businesses. The advent of the fourth industrial revolution, and the technological innovation it brings, could be a key catalyst to providing small business and entrepreneurs with access to new financial markets. One such market is the ability to raise small amounts of money from a large number of people. The challenge for companies seeking to access crowd finance is that traditional legislation is focussed on the protection of investors and not necessarily on the liberalisation of investment choices. In order to give crowdfunding an opportunity to grow as a market, a balance will need to be struck between keeping the costs of accessing the crowdfunding market at a minimum without compromising on investor protection. A key way of doing this will be through the relaxation of the regulatory framework relating to the offering of securities to the public, the establishment of regulated crowdfunding platforms and the standardisation of the constitutional documents of issuers. Without these interventions, it is unlikely that a buoyant crowdfunding market can exist...LL.M. (Corporate Law