For new entrepreneurs who are often refused the loans needed to start a business by banks, there is now another opportunity – the supervision committee of the Bank of Latvia has granted SIA Flow permission to provide crowdfunding services. There are now five companies offering such services.
Flow is registered in the register of crowdfunding service providers with the right to facilitate the granting of loans and to offer related ancillary services: application of creditworthiness assessment for crowdfunding projects, proposals for the price and/or interest rate of crowdfunding offers, and the use of a bulletin board.
Fintech Latvia explains: Many aspiring entrepreneurs face a situation where it is difficult to obtain funding for the implementation of their business idea in the form of a traditional bank loan. In addition to other existing forms of raising finance, an alternative form is gaining increasing popularity – crowdfunding. In contrast to traditional bank loans, where financing is provided by a single lender (a bank), crowdfunding usually consists of a large number of investors, each of whom can invest even very small amounts, but together it is possible to secure funding of a very substantial volume.
Crowdfunding is an important type of intermediation where the crowdfunding service provider, without itself assuming obligations, operates a publicly accessible digital platform to bring together potential investors or lenders with companies seeking financing. Such financing takes the form of loans or investments in the share capital of companies.
Three types of participants are involved in the provision of crowdfunding services: the project owner, who proposes the project to be financed; the investors, who finance the proposed project; and the crowdfunding service provider, who brings project owners and investors together on an online platform.
The Bank of Latvia maintains on its website a national register that includes crowdfunding service providers that have obtained authorisation to operate in Latvia. A comprehensive European Union register of crowdfunding service providers is maintained and published on its website by the European Securities and Markets Authority.
Entrepreneurs who wish to obtain an authorisation to operate as a crowdfunding service provider in Latvia must apply to the Bank of Latvia. More detailed information on obtaining an authorisation can be found in the licensing guide on the Bank of Latvia website. The Bank of Latvia provides entrepreneurs with free advisory support both before applying for an authorisation and throughout the authorisation process.
Flow is a new company established at the beginning of 2025 by the non-bank lender Erst Finance, whose turnover in 2024 was 20.22 million euros and profit 116.78 thousand euros, according to Lursoft data. The company’s beneficial owners are Artūrs Miglinieks and Olafs Berķis.
Originally published at https://inc-baltics.com/banku-atraiditajiem-jaunas-iespejas-flow-sanemis-atlauju-kolektivajai-finansesanai/
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