Equitise finalises Australia’s first equity crowdfunding with Xinja raising more than $2 million
Equitise is finalising Australia’s first equity crowdfunding offer, with aspiring neobank Xinja raising more than $2 million as it prepares to launch products designed to transform the banking experience for Australians.
One-in-four investors have committed the minimum $250 for Xinja’s crowdfunding raise.
Almost 7-in-10 have committed less than $1000, highlighting the accessibility of equity crowdfunding for regular investors, not to mention the opportunity for startups willing to work with them.
Xinja’s capital raise was the first full retail equity crowdfunding offer to go live in Australia and is still open to investors until March 31. Equitise co-founder Chris Gilbert said the success of the raise underlines the willingness of everyday Australians to gain a foothold in cutting-edge companies, an opportunity once only afforded to wealthy investors.
“Equitise is disrupting the way people invest by giving them more ways to back exciting businesses and help grow the companies they love,” Gilbert said.
Xinja chief executive Eric Wilson said: “We are thrilled to have raised a significant amount of money from retail investors through Australia’s first equity crowdfunding.”
“From the word go, we have always said we wanted to offer our customers a chance to own a piece of the action, and this is what we were able to do. The launch of equity crowdfunding in Australia created an opportunity for Founding Xinjas to benefit from any success we have in the future, which is all part of our building a bank with our customers. We were delighted and humbled by the response.”
Mr Wilson said Xinja has already launched its prepaid card and app and is on track to deliver home loans within the next couple of months. Xinja is hopeful of receiving a banking licence in a similar time frame which would allow it to launch transaction accounts, he added.
“We are aiming to change the banking landscape,” Mr Wilson said. “It is happening in other parts of the world, and it’s time Australians had access to this kind of technology and approach; helping customers make the most out of their money, with less angst. It’s great seeing investors come on board; this is a sign of the appetite for change,” he said.
Investments of $250 proved to be most popular and were made by over one in four investors (26.53% of the total). Investments of $10,000 made up almost one third (27.77%) of total investments, followed by $5,000 which made up 15.98% of all investments in the round.
Gilbert said the average investment in the Xinja round, at $1,858.57, was higher than anticipated, given the highly accessible entry point of $250.
Xinja, who was recently granted its Australian Credit Licence from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), raised the minimum of $500,000 in less than 24 hours of its offer opening and more than $1 million in a week.
“We’re thrilled to have worked with Xinja to showcase the excellent potential of equity crowdfunding with everyday Australians all having a share in creating Australia’s very first neobank,” Gilbert added.
Key Stats
- Current investment through Equitise is over A$2 million from over 1,000 investors, a record in the region for equity crowdfunding
- When launched, Xinja hit the minimum funding target in under a day
- The average investment is at $1,850, which was higher than anticipated, given the highly accessible entry point of $250
- Investments of $250 proved to be most popular and were made by over a quarter of all investors (26.53% of the total)
- Almost 7 out of 10 (68.22%) participants invested $1000 or less
- 52% of investors were under 40 and only 19% were female
- There was interest from traditional sophisticated investors with investments of $10,000 making up almost one third (27.77%) of total investment
