Author: OurCrowd

8 Israeli Tech Trends, 8 Crazy Nights 2014: Online Lending (1/8)

8 Israeli Tech Trends, 8 Crazy Nights 2014: Online Lending (1/8)

Dec 17, 2014 | , ,

As Israel observes Hanukkah – a celebration of the light among the darkness – it’s time to highlight the tech trends creating sparks within the Startup Nation. Note, these trends are based on our deal flow – what our team sees on the ground. Trend 1/8: Online Lending How a trend is born:  According to estimates, lending institutions generate $870+ billion each year in fees and interest from over $3.2 trillion in lending. The lending industry is larger than the automobile and airline industries combined! Here’s the issue: the Global Financial Crisis of 2008-2009, when consumers and small businesses needed access to credit more than ever, many banks stopped offering loans and lines of credit. The combination of this liquidity crunch, new bank regulations and increased dissatisfaction with the quality and cost of banking services resulted in significant friction in the traditional lending industry and set the stage for the emergence of one of the hottest sectors of innovation in the world today: alternative finance and online lending. Who’s who:  In Israel, not only are companies aiming to build the online lending...

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[PRESS RELEASE] OurCrowd Featured as Leading Equity Crowdfunder in KPMG’s 50 Fintech Innovators

[PRESS RELEASE] OurCrowd Featured as Leading Equity Crowdfunder in KPMG’s 50 Fintech Innovators

Dec 16, 2014 |

Jerusalem, Israel December 16, 2014: OurCrowd was named the top equity crowdfunding platform in KPMG’s recently published The 50 Best Fintech Innovators Report, reaching the number #22 spot overall. This report, which provides deep analysis of the rapidly evolving fintech industry worldwide, identified 4 other equity crowdfunding platforms in the top 50 including: CircleUp (#23), AngelList (#35), Crowdcube (#46) and Seedrs (#47). Read more...

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Meet the Israeli startups on Google’s list of 2014’s Best Android Apps

Meet the Israeli startups on Google’s list of 2014’s Best Android Apps

Dec 16, 2014 | , ,

With over 1 million apps available on the platform, Google Play is the world’s largest app store. Each year, Google sifts through the multitudinous apps they offer and puts together a list of the best Android apps of 2014. Among the 75 apps the tech giant has highlighted as the ‘best of the best’ this year in their respective categories, four of them were developed by Israeli companies. The strong presence of Israeli apps across the industry’s various lists and rankings over the past few years reflects the continuous growth and advancement of the Startup Nation’s mobile ecosystem. Besides being very useful additions to anyone’s collection, these photo & video editing, finance, and social apps represent the finest of Israeli mobile app innovation. Here is the Made-in-Israel edition of Google Play’s list of the best Android apps of 2014: Money Tracker by BillGuard OurCrowd portfolio company, BillGuard is a personal finance security company harnessing the collective knowledge of millions of consumers to protect everyone from unwanted and unauthorized charges on our credit card bills. BillGuard scans your card activity daily and alerts you to hidden charges, billing errors, misleading subscriptions...

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