The Nova Scotia Securities Commission, with other members of the Canadian Securities Administrators, is seeking feedback on proposed exemptions for crowdfunding and start-ups.

The Integrated Crowdfunding Prospectus Exemption and the Start-Up Crowdfunding Prospectus Exemption would allow both reporting and non-reporting issuers to raise capital through Internet portals.

“Nova Scotia companies are continuously finding innovative ways to use crowdfunding to raise money for specific projects, but it has never involved issuing securities,” said Sarah Bradley, chair and CEO of the Nova Scotia Securities Commission. “The proposed crowdfunding exemptions are intended to cut through red tape to give Nova Scotia companies a new cost-effective way to raise capital, and give local investors more opportunities to invest in small and start-up businesses.”

The crowdfunding and start-up exemptions are designed to meet the needs of start-ups and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) at different stages. The proposed exemptions also include investor protections.

The main differences between the proposed exemptions are that the start-up exemption is available to non-reporting issuers only, does not need the online portal to be registered and portal and allows lower capital raising and investment limits.

All participating Canadian Securities Administrators jurisdictions are inviting comments on the proposed exemptions until June

The Nova Scotia Securities Commission is the provincial government agency responsible for regulating trading in securities in the province. To view the notice, visit http://nssc.gov.ns.ca .

Source: Release