Go Alberta – Canadian Crowdfunding Platform Announcement

Go Alberta announced the launch of the first equity crowdfunding platform in the Canadian province of Alberta. It went all over the news, so we decided to take a closer look at it and see how it works, what it is about and find out if there are any opportunities on the market for similar crowdfunding platforms. 

Long story short, at the time of research, the platform appeared to be still in development, but in this article, we’ll explore the following:

• What Go Alberta Connect crowdfunding platform is and why they launched now
• What types of businesses can raise funds on Go Alberta
• What the investing conditions are for investors and businesses
• How to launch an equity crowdfunding platform in Canada with LenderKit.

About Go Alberta and its initiative to launch an equity crowdfunding platform

Go Alberta started out as a community which aims to support local businesses in Alberta. Having identified the problem that small businesses were limited in their opportunities to access capital, and that there weren’t many people willing to invest, either because of a limited investor audience or a high entry barrier, Go Alberta launched its own equity crowdfunding platform in Canada to promote remarkable businesses in the Alberta province. 

The platform focuses on closing the funding gap for local small businesses and startups and helping them to get support from the local community: their customers, friends, family members, and the general public.

It assists companies in raising funds for different purposes:

• expansion
• the launch of a new product
• hiring new employees
• paydown debt
• purchase of equipment, and so on.

The platform operates as an intermediary as defined in the National Instrument 45-110, and is eligible to:

• manage the entire fundraising process
• conduct due diligence on the participants
• confirm eligibility of the participants
• provide marketing support to crowdfunders 

Crowdfunding opportunities and sectors in Alberta

Go Alberta allows any type of business to raise funds by selling equity in the company, including:

• agriculture
• alternative energy
• oil and gas
• real estate
• retail services
• mining
• technology
• entertainment
• food services
• manufacturing, etc. 

Businesses can raise up to CAD1,500,000 within a 12-month period, and the platform permits multiple funding rounds to minimize dilution when the business grows and needs more funds to expand.

Investing conditions on Go Alberta

The minimum investment is CAD100, and the platform permits anybody to invest directly from a bank account, no additional registration or account creation is needed. Accredited investors can invest up to CAD 25,000 per offering. The maximum investment limit for an individual investor is set to CAD 2,500, with a maximum of CAD 10,000 per year. All the invested funds are held in a trust account until the funding target is achieved.

Funds transferring and reporting

When the fundraising target is achieved, the platform transfers the funds to the business and performs the transfer of shares to a new investor. All procedures of filing with SEDAR and the Securities Commissions are handled by Go Alberta.  

All details about an investment are contained in a Crowdfunders Offering Document. Investors are permitted to withdraw their funds within 48 hours from the moment of investment. 

If Go Alberta notifies an investor about changes in the Crowdfunders Offering Document, the investor is permitted to withdraw his funding within 48 hours from the moment when such a notification was received. To do so, it is sufficient to email Go Alberta with the request, and all the funds invested in the project will be reimbursed to the investor within five business days. Reimbursements are made to the original payment source.

If an investor fails to send the reimbursement request within 48 hours, they won’t be eligible for any refunds from the platform.

The platform is now collecting applications from businesses that need funding, and as soon as this stage advances, investors will be able to start investing in the most promising projects. In the application, crowdfunders indicate how much money they need. If a project fails to raise the funding target within a specified period, all contributions are refunded in full to investors within 5 working days. 

What happens in case of the platform insolvency

If Go Alberta initiates any proceeding in relation to its bankruptcy, insolvency, administration, or similar, or if it makes a general assignment for the benefit of the platform’s creditors, or is going to stop operating for any other reason, it shall notify all investors and crowdfunders about it within two business days. If any funds are still held by Go Alberta (those invested in projects where the funding goal was not reached or the investment deadline hasn’t come yet), such funds will be refunded to investors. The refunds shall be made within five business days to the original payment source.

Launch an equity crowdfunding platform in Canada with LenderKit

Whether you are looking to launch a crowdfunding platform in Alberta or elsewhere in Canada, check out white-label crowdfunding software by LenderKit. 

LenderKit provides both turnkey crowdfunding platform development services and a ready-made white-label investment software solution. You can start with a pre-built platform and scale as your business grows, adding new features, functionality and adjusting your product offerings to investors in Canada. 

The solution comes with existing integrations like payment processing, e-sign and KYC/AML to help you start your investment platform in Canada smoothly and efficiently. 

If you are interested to learn more about LenderKit and book an online demo, fill out the contact form and our team will answer your questions.