Indiegogo expands into equity crowdfunding

Indiegogo, the rewards-based crowdfunding platform which started in 2008, has announced that it will be opening up equity-based crowdfunding on its site to give entrepreneurs “a new way” to raise funds.

The US company has taken advantage of new equity crowdfunding regulations that came into force in May and will now allow armchair investors to invest in businesses from around the world in exchange for a share of equity.

Over the last eight years, Silicon Valley-based Indiegogo has helped entrepreneurs raise more than $1bn across 690,000 successful reward-based campaigns.

It is now hoping to duplicate this success by implementing the equity-based crowdfunding model; like that which is offered by fast-growth UK equity crowdfunding platforms Seedrs and Crowdcube.

Indiegogo has said that, with more than 15 million visitors to its site every month, it is “now well-positioned to rapidly expand the market for investment crowdfunding”.

Indiegogo CEO, David Mandelbrot, commented:

“Our mission has always been to make it easier for individuals to raise money for projects they are passionate about and this is the latest way we’re helping entrepreneurs access the financing they need while also giving backers the chance to invest in new companies.”