About BeeBonds :
BeeBonds is a new crowdlending platform launched in 2016 in Belgium. Behind the innovative platform, Joël Duysan, Cofounder and Managing Partner. The company started big, raising a total of 1.5 million euros for its first project, BlackReit. Then, in 2019, the FSMA (Financial Services And Markets Authority) certified BeeBonds as an Alternative Financing Platform.
Now, after four years and a pandemic, where do they situate themselves, and what are their plans for the future?
Your first project, BlackReit, in 2017, raised 1.5 million euros. You have now financed 18 additional projects, the latest being qmedical. What is your general strategy ? And how do you choose your projects ?
Joël Duysan : We organize local fundraising. People need money for a project, so they contact us, and we promote them on our platform. There, potential investors can learn all the details, and decide if they want to invest in it. If they do, it requires a minimum investment of €1,000.
Then, they benefit from their investment through payment of dividends (which vary from 6 to 12%). And when the development of the project ends, they recover their investment fully, along with their last dividend.
On our platform, we present real estate projects, like BlackReit, and social or corporate projects. Qmedical, which ended this Friday, was both : it aimed to build three medical centers in and around Brussels.
And finally, we do not choose the projects, we sort them. As we have a certain reputation now, we receive direct calls from project leaders, and then we decide which ones we want to develop.
Do you see a main trend that emerges among all these projects?
J. D. : Yes, in real estate, we clearly notice that residential is doing particularly well. People understand its profitability, and they can see its evolution directly.
This is the advantage of financing local projects : it allows a direct vision of the project, which is therefore more interesting than stock market investment.
Do you have any advice for investors?
J. D. : First of all, we would like to thank our investors.
Then, as I said, direct funding is more interesting than stock market projects. And this way investors participate in real life, in a more concrete sense.
Then, you should diversify your portfolio, that’s also important. At BeeBonds, we publish around one project per month, so it is possible to diversify your investments, and therefore reduce your level of risk.
And finally, with our system, you’ll get, after one year, a regular income based on the interest rate.
With Covid-19, you have put in place citizen financial solidarity. What does this imply, and what advantages do you give societies that are now struggling with the crisis?
J. D. : We give clear, simple and structured access to fundraising, through a platform that allows the establishment of citizen solidarity. It is like a stock market investment because our stock market bonds can be listed on the market. Indeed, at BeeBonds, all our bonds have an ISIN code of identification.
And now, we also partner with PwC to help struggling societies get through this crisis.
How do you think the market will evolve in the coming years ?
J. D. : I think there is going to be an explosion. People will find that they can be useful, that they can invest in a project, and they will gain confidence.
Where do you see yourselves in 5, 10 years ?
J. D. : First, we are, and we will remain, an entity at BeeBonds.
We are very optimistic about the future. We were fortunate to be the first to launch this type of licensed crowdlending platform. It wasn’t difficult for us, and we benefit from a virtual platform that makes it even easier.
So we sincerely believe crowdlending is the future, and that our part in it will only grow in the coming years.
And, speaking of future, after each successful fundraising, we purchase a beehive. So we participate in the protection of bees, which are also essential to the construction and development of this world.
And at BeeBonds, we can ease this process. One of our advantages is that we have bonds on the stock market : so investors, or their successors, can sell their shares on the market whenever they want.
Thank you. Would you like to add something else ?
J. D. : We are open to any PropTech Lab members who are seeking funding. Especially now, given the reluctance of banks to invest; we believe we can be of great interest to them.
So to all members : don’t hesitate to contact us.
For more information: https://www.beebonds.com/
Liuba Diederich