Issue link: http://resourceworld.uberflip.com/i/392638
o c t o b e r / n o v e m b e r 2 0 1 4 www.resourceworld.com 27 ers. People respect the process that we have developed for obtaining a listing. They like our customer service and they appreciate that the barriers they have faced in the past are being overcome. They like the fact that investors can access real-time data. RW: What kind of reception do you get from investors? RC: We get a variety of inputs from inves- tors. One challenge we faced was the lack of access to our platform from the bank- owned discount brokerage network. Over the course of time we have been knock- ing this obstacle down. Now, all of the independently-owned discount brokerages have access to our system. All the bank- owned discount brokerages have electronic access except two (BMO and TD); however, they all have voice access. We expect the last two banks will be on board in the fore- seeable future. RW: What would be one of your biggest achievements? RC: We have helped Canadian entrepre- neurs raise well over a billion dollars that is being used to generate new jobs and new technologies. That's why stock exchanges exist – to facilitate the capital formation process. So far this year, CSE-listed compa- nies have raised about $75 million. RW: What are the CSE's near-term plans? James Black: On the business develop- ment side, we will continue to work on market access. We are focusing on earlier- funding groups such as angel investors or private investment groups where we know that they are going to need a liquidity or exit mechanism for their investment and maybe to take their investors' investments to the next stage. They need transparency and regular reporting to attract pools of capital which is exactly what the CSE offers. We are also focusing on companies that are not currently satisfied with their exchange offerings. We talk to them and offer listing workshop semi- nars. We recently had a workshop called "Harnessing the Power of Cross-Border Markets" with our friends at the US OTC Markets. We've had some experts speak on how to leverage Canadian and US-based listings. These events serve to get our mes- sage out. n We have helped Canadian entrepreneurs raise well over a billion dollars that is being used to generate new jobs and new technologies.