Crowdlending Belgium

What is crowdlending?

Crowdfunding is one form of participative financing. Crowdlending is one of the forms of participatory financing (also known as crowdfunding).

The crowdlending consists of collecting "interest-bearing loans for companies to finance their development or to carry out specific operations"..

Like crowdfunding, crowdlending is a business financing mechanism that allows citizen savings to be mobilised.

Crowdfunding allows investors to make a financial investment in the form of a loan to a company.

The growing popularity of crowdlending in Belgium

In Belgium, participative investment and crowdlending are enjoying a boom. growing popularity.

According to a FSMA study published in 2020, crowdlending represents 70% of amounts financed by crowdfunding in Belgium.

Source: Crowdlending Belgium - Study carried out by the Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) - Crowdfunding market July 2018-June 2020

In the period from July 2018 to June 2020, FSMA identified 140 successful crowdfunding campaigns that raised a total of €69.24 million. By way of comparison, the projects carried out during the period 2012-2017 raised to raise a total of 40.02 million euros.

The organisation of equity crowdfunding campaigns is subject to the following conditions a strict legal framework to protect investors.

What are the advantages of crowdlending?

For investors who lend their money to a company, the advantages of crowdlending are many:

Potentially higher returns:The interest rates offered on platforms are generally higher than those on savings books ;
The possibility of benefiting from a tax exemption reserved for certain investments made via crowdlending platforms ;
The satisfaction of supporting businesses, the real economy, employment and value creation.

For businesses, crowdlending offers a number of advantages:

A source of financing complementary to other financing methods such as bank credit, "friends & family" financing, the Proxi loan in Brussels, the coup de pouce loan in Wallonia ;
A leverage on equity ;
A way of obtaining funding quickly (depending on the project and the platform chosen);
The benefit of visibility for the company and its project as part of the fundraising campaign ;
A direct link with investors.

Crowdlending in Belgium: What are the risks?

Like any investment, crowdlending involves risks for investors. In particular, lending to SMEs involves the risk of capital loss (total or partial) of the amount invested.. Each crowdlending application carries its own level of risk.

To assess it, please consult the information and descriptive notes relating to the project.

In Belgium, the information communicated to investors is subject to the regulations applicable to alternative financing, compliance with which is ensured by the FSMA (the French Financial Services and Markets Authority). FSMA studies confirm the increase in the amounts financed via crowdfunding (without providing information on the default rate).

How are the crowdlending applications proposed on the BeeBonds platform analysed?

The process of analysing applications submitted to BeeBonds and setting up campaigns is extremely rigorous:

Submission of funding applications:applications submitted to the BeeBonds platform must be documented. The application submission process is online ;
Validation by the selection committee : Applications that meet the BeeBonds platform's eligibility criteria are evaluated by their selection committee, which is made up in part of independent experts;
Financial analysis : the dossiers are analysed by our partners (Deloitte and PWC), who rigorously check the information presented. This analysis is the subject of a descriptive note on the project, which is offered to investors;
Information note : The information memoranda are entrusted to Deloitte Legal. These documents contain all the applicable terms and conditions. The notes are subject to compliance with the regulations applicable to participative financing and are sent to the FSMA.

With BeeBonds, discover and invest free of charge projects in crowdlending in Belgium and benefit from attractive returns on your savings.

What happens when I invest in a BeeBonds project?

You receive an annual interest payment (on average 7.7% gross) for a fixed period of 2 to 5 years, depending on the project. At the end of the project, you recover your entire initial investment.

Here's an example:

You invest €10,000 in a 3-year project offering a return of 8% gross per year (illustration).
The total amount you will have received will therefore be €12,400, which is €2,400 more for your savings (before withholding tax).

How do I invest in crowdlending?

More than 1,500 investors have 22 projects for more than €25 million since the creation of the BeeBonds platform.