Deals: Singapore bank UOB will invest $10m in an equity crowdfunding site

By Terence Lee for TechinAsia

Singapore’s banks are head over heels in love with fintech. Well, I’m exaggerating, but it’s true that financial institutions in the country are exploring ways to use technology to improve their offerings.

Count United Overseas Bank (UOB), one of Singapore’s largest banks, in that group. It announced that it will be investing US$10 million in OurCrowd, an “equity crowdfunding” site where accredited investors among UOB’s clientele can log on to invest in tech startups.

UOB’s investment makes the bank a stakeholder and limited partner in the platform. That means it will invest in OurCrowd’s portfolio of startups.

Originating from Israel, OurCrowd focuses on startups across the entire spectrum – from seed stage to mature. It claims to have helped raise US$200 million and vetted 4,000 companies so far.

Asian startups will be given the opportunity to get listed on OurCrowd. UOB tells Tech in Asia that it will identify and refer both investors and startups to the crowdfunding site.

This tie-up with OurCrowd isn’t the only way UOB’s working with startups. It debuted The FinLab, a startup accelerator for fintech companies.

Rival bank OCBC has its own initiatives too. It launched The Open Vault, an “innovation center” which will help fintech startups get a leg-up in their markets.

the article first appeared in Techinasia