For more information about this story, contact Frank Knapp at sbchamber@scsbc.org or 803-252-5733.
 
GSA Business
July 31, 2013

The S.C. Small Business Chamber of Commerce has joined a Mission Markets online crowd-funding portal that gives businesses access to financing and donation-based investment resources.

Chamber President Frank Knapp said the portal gives businesses and non-profits conducting a business enterprise another avenue to gain access to capital.

The portal, called โ€œInvest in a New Economy,โ€ is a partnership between the Small Business Chamber, American Sustainable Business Council and Mission Markets Inc., a New York-based securities firm. Applications are being accepted and the portal is expected to go live by the end of August.

โ€œAny business in this state or nonprofit conducting a business enterprise will be able to use this portal,โ€ Knapp said Wednesday.

He said there will be an applicationfee of about $100 and applicants will automatically become members of the chamber.

The portal allows S.C. businesses to seek capital through donation crowd-funding, which involves asking the public to make donations toward a project or business activity. Financing options also are available through private placements that involve high-income individuals investing in a business for an equity position; and โ€” if approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission โ€” through individuals who make relatively small investments in a business for an equity position.

Knappโ€™s posting on the chamber website said the Mission Markets crowd-funding portal is another option to seek capital โ€œfor the entrepreneurs and small business owners who just donโ€™t have the equity or capital assets a financial institution needs for a loan or a line of credit.โ€

He said the Columbia-based chamber, with more than 5,000 members, is working with Mission Markets โ€œbecause of its mission to do good, its technology to enable these proprietary blended portal networks and its goal of reaching across organizations.โ€

โ€œBy offering small businesses access to equity from accredited investors, and donation-based crowd financing, we are helping local communities to thrive in a socially responsible manner,โ€ Knapp said.

                                                                     
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