SINGAPORE (May 9): FundedHere, one of the growing number of crowd-funding platforms setting up shop in Singapore, has helped raise a total of $1 million for four companies.

The platform, which bills itself as the first in Singapore to have the licence to do both equity and debt funding, first went “live” on April 1.

“We are elated by the response which demonstrates that licensed crowdfunding is gaining rapid acceptance as a vital component of the local startup eco-system,” says FundedHere CEO Michael Tee. The platform can only accept investments from so-called accredited investors (AI): those with a net worth of at least $2 million or annual income of at least $350,000.

FTMSGlobal, an established Singapore-based private education operator, is one of the four companies that have raised capital via FundedHere. The company, which teaches ACCA and CFA classes, first started business back in 1986. It now has a presence in countries like Mongolia and Cambodia and Hong Kong.

The other three companies that have raised money via FundedHere are start-ups. The first is Chloros Solutions, which offers services for environmental sustainability design, engineering, procurement and construction. FTMSGlobal and Chloros both obtained short-term crowd-lending loans.

By contrast, the other two start-ups, obtained seed capital. “For companies like ours, this is an alternative to venture capital. I believe the ease of using FundedHere and the speed at which the funds come in will encourage more startups to use the platform,” says Daniel Tan, CEO of DeNova Sciences Pte Ltd, one of the two start-ups.

FundedHere notes that these four companies were chosen from more than 200 companies that sought to raise money ranging from $100,000 to $1 million.

More than a dozen AIs put in money, including Midana Capital, a venture capital fund, which was the lead investor in two of the four investments.