The main organization lobbying to legalize equity crowdfunding in Canada is teaming up with a major U.S. group to bolster its efforts.
Invest CrowdFund Canada (ICC) announced today it is formally partneringwith the U.S.-based Crowdfunding Professionals Association (CfPA). Thenew partnership – referred to as the CfPA/ICC National Canadian Board -will feature CfPA co-chair Sherwood Neiss as well as board members fromICC including ICC national chair Dr. Cindy Gordon and Fawn Annan,president and group publisher at IT World Canada (parent company ofITBusiness.ca). ICC will also represent Canadian crowdfundinglegislative interests on the CfPA’s global board.
ICC is forming an alliance withCfPA, which is co-chaired by Sherwood Neiss, above. (Photo:StartupExemption.com)
Barry Gander, vice-president of the Canadian Advanced TechnologyAlliance (CATA), will also be a member of the new board.
ICC was formed as an offshoot from the technology industry groups CATAand i-CANADA to create amore cohesive lobbying effort in support of legalizing equitycrowdfunding in Canada. ICC’s and CATA’s lobbying efforts for thatcauseinclude an online petition and a campaign to write letters to everyprovincially elected politician in Canada asking for support to makeequity crowdfunding legal, something that requires the amendment ofsecurities laws in each province.
Neiss was one of the leading drivers behind the push to pass the U.S.JOBS Act, which essentially legalized equity crowdfunding in the U.S.Teaming up with CfPA will likely give ICC more political clout andstrength of numbers since CfPA has more than 600 members, 12 per centof whom are based outside North America.
Source | i-CANADA