Serena Williams and Venus Williams Come Together Again for a Belgian Investment

Published 04/20/2023, 3:40 PM EDT

Belgium is the latest European country to welcome Shares, an online investment platform that has risen to prominence owing to the backing of tennis legends Venus and Serena Williams. The platform already has a presence in the UK, France, and Poland. The Williams sisters aren’t only the platform’s marketing ambassadors, they are among its shareholders as well.

Founded by Benjamin Chemla in 2021, Shares allows individuals to invest their savings via its app. For the time being, the platform will only entertain cryptocurrency investments in Belgium.

Why did the Venus and Serena Williams backed platform choose Belgium?

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Stanislas Chertok, the head of the platform’s Belgium operations, provided fascinating insights into why Belgium emerged as its next destination. In an interview, Chertok opined, “Belgium is a country with a high level of savings.” He added, “The rate of adoption of cryptos is important. And it’s a market partly in French.”

According to Chertok, “The goal is to establish itself in all the countries of the European Union.” Chertok also went on to state that the full range of the platform’s services will soon be unleashed across Poland and France.

Shares is different from other investment platforms as it takes a social network approach to investment. As a result, the platform’s users have the option to make friends and follow their respective transactions. Additionally, users can also gauge the performances of their friends’ investments.

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The role of the Williams sisters in making Shares more popular

In October 2022, Shares announced that the Williams sisters had invested in the platform. Furthermore, the platform revealed the appointment of the sisters as its first ever brand ambassadors.

By the time the sisters’ appointment as the platform’s brand ambassadors was announced, it had already garnered more than 150,000 users. Additionally, the platform raised a whopping $40 million in a Valar Fund-led funding round, and this caught Venus and Serena’s attention.

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Following the announcement, Serena praised the platform saying, “It is rare to find companies that are equally as passionate about opening up opportunities and breaking barriers to entry that have prevented traditional spaces like investment from being totally inclusive.” So far, the platform has managed to raise around $90 million in funding. With the backing of the business-minded Williams sisters, more is set to follow in the coming days and months.

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Written by:

Sudipto is a Tennis writer at EssentiallySports. He completed his graduation in Journalism and Mass Communication in 2012. His passion for writing became a full-time profession in 2019 after working as a musician and travelling educator.

Edited by:

Anuj Jacob

Serena Williams and Venus Williams Come Together Again for a Belgian Investment

Why did the Venus and Serena Williams backed platform choose Belgium?

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The role of the Williams sisters in making Shares more popular