Historical series Itaú’s ion application now offers access to the collective investment segment in startups in Brazil
Partnership with the EqSeed platform seeks to develop this market by allowing investments in companies with a high appreciation potential
Itaú Unibanco made available, in its ion platform, the possibility for clients to invest in early-stage startups with high appreciation potential, with contributions starting from R$ 2.5 thousand. This initiative is the result of an exclusive partnership that the bank signed with EqSeed, an online platform for investments in startups and companies in the expansion stage, which since 2017 has conducted 53 fundraising rounds that resulted in R$66.2 million invested in companies from various sectors.
This segment is known as equity crowdfunding and consists of a form of collective investment in startups through an electronic platform. The modality allows general investors to acquire shares in promising companies, previously restricted to venture capital and private equity funds, accessed only by professional investors (who have assets invested from R$ 10 million).
“Our focus in this operation with EqSeed is to offer our clients, in a simplified way, a democratic access for those interested in diversifying their portfolio with the possibility of obtaining results from the growth of companies with appreciation potential”, says Rogerio Calabria, superintendent of investment and pension products at Itaú Unibanco. “We see this market evolving and with potential in Brazil and we want to grow along with it, because we have already pioneered the development of the startup and innovation ecosystem with Cubo, in addition to several other initiatives to contribute to innovative and promising businesses,” says Calabria.
Itaú clients can register with EqSeed directly through the ion application to, at a later date, access the offers available at that moment for investment through the platform.