The next Arabian Business StartUp Academy, scheduled to take place on Monday, August 17, will focus on what online crowdfunding platforms offer to SMEs and start-ups.
In cooperation with RAK Free Trade Zone, this month’s breakfast workshop, starting at 8.30am at the Address Hotel Downtown Dubai, aims to present what innovative Dubai-based entrepreneurs – Sam Quawasmi, managing director and co-founder, Eureeca, and Craig Moore, founder and CEO, Beehive – have done to bring crowdfunding platforms to the region.
With the International Finance Corporation (IFC) estimating that the current SME funding gap in the MENA region is at least $260 billion, a lot of entrepreneurs and SME leaders have turned to alternative finance solutions.
Sam Quawasmi, managing director and co-founder of Eureeca, will kick off the workshop by explaining what Eureeca, the first globally regulated equity crowdfunding platform, offers to businesses seeking funding.
Prior to founding Eureeca in 2013, which is now regulated by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Quawasmi held notable positions in investment banking across the region.
After a short networking break, Craig Moore, founder and CEO, Beehive will share with the audience why he decided to set up the UAE’s first online marketplace for peer-to-peer finance and what it offers to local businesses.
A successful serial entrepreneur himself, Moore got support from Rick Pudner, former Group CEO of Emirates NBD, to facilitate flexible financing solutions for established SME businesses seeking finance of more than AED100,000 for up to three years.
Source: Arabian Business
