United Overseas Bank is training more than 100 commercial bankers on alternative financing as it deepens support for startups through its recent $10 million investment in equity crowdfunding platform OurCrowd.
OurCrowd, in which UOB took a stake in March this year, was awarded a full Capital Market Services (CMS) license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) at the end of July.
The bank says the platform adds another battalion to its armoury of startup support services, lining up alongside its FinLab accelerator programme and more conventional venture debt financing and investment banking programmes.
Janet Young, head of group channels and digitalisation, UOB, says: “We understand the ambitions of startups and emerging enterprises and want to help them grow into sustainable businesses. In the last six months, we have trained more than 100 commercial bankers to identify and to understand the type of financing for which startups can qualify. Through our initiatives, we are well-equipped to support the startup ecosystem and help them realise their full potential.”
Launched in 2013, OurCrowd has since raised more than US$250 million for investment in almost 100 companies, eight of which have gone on to be acquired by a multinational or listed publicly.