BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 7. A new draft law "On
crowdfunding" to ensure access to alternative financing channels
for startups, micro, small, and medium-sized entrepreneurs has been
developed in Azerbaijan and discussed in the parliament, Trend's correspondent
reports from the event.


The draft law was put up for the discussions at today's meeting
of the Parliament Committee on Economic Policy, Industry and
Entrepreneurship.


During the discussions, it was noted that the document regulates
the legal, organizational, and economic foundations of equity and
debt crowdfunding in the country. The implementation of this law
will serve to increase business activity and protect the rights of
investors by using the opportunities of the capital market.


According to the draft law, operators managing a crowdfunding
platform can only be established in the form of a limited liability
or a joint-stock company. The authorized and total capital of
operators mustn't be less than the minimum amount determined by the
Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA). Moreover, each operator must be
included in a special register maintained by the CBA in order to
start operating.


Strict requirements and specific rules have also been
established for persons wishing to own a significant stake in the
platform. A stake constituting 10% or more of the authorized
capital is considered a significant stake, and its acquisition is
possible only with the consent of the CBA. The bank must consider
applications for permission to increase the stake to 20, 33 or 50%
within 60 calendar days.


One of the main conditions is that the persons performing
management functions have a higher education and civic integrity.
At least one of the managers must have at least 3 years of work
experience in the field of financial services. Managers of
financial institutions that are bankrupt or have been liquidated
for violating prudential requirements cannot hold a management
position in the operator for 3 years.


In order to prevent conflicts of interest, operators are subject
to certain restrictions on their platforms. The operator can offer
an investment of a maximum of 20% of the targeted amount for
financing each project. At the same time, the operator's employees
and significant shareholders cannot be direct owners of projects
placed on that platform.







According to the document, a special "cooling off period"
mechanism is applied to protect the rights of individual investors.
This period, starting from the day following the day the investment
proposal was submitted, covers 7 calendar days. During these 7
days, an individual investor can withdraw his investment proposal
without giving any reason and without paying a penalty.


The duration and types of crowdfunding campaigns are also set in
a clear time frame. The campaign starts from the date of
publication of the main information sheet and can last for a
maximum of 90 days. Only joint-stock companies can act as project
owners for equity-based crowdfunding, and they can finance a
maximum of 2 projects in the last 12 months.


Debt-based crowdfunding activities should be carried out only
through bond issuance. The maturity of bonds issued under this rule
cannot exceed 5 years. Under the debt-based model, the project
owner is also given the right to finance a maximum of 2
crowdfunding projects in the last 12 months.


After the successful completion of the campaign, investors'
funds and securities are managed operationally. The operator must
begin placing securities within 3 business days after the end of
the campaign. The total duration of this placement process cannot
exceed 3 business days.


Control over the implementation of the new draft law is fully
entrusted to the CBA. The law will enter into force 6 months after
its official publication. During this period, operators wishing to
operate in the market must adapt to new infrastructure
requirements.


The draft law was put to a vote after discussions and passed in
the first reading.