Significant growth in crowdfunding in Switzerland
On a low base, the crowdfunding market in Switzerland has once again grown significantly. This method of raising funds from the general public via the Internet increased by 73 percent last year to 27.3 million Swiss francs.
In the previous year, only 15.8 million francs were raised, according to the third study on the Swiss crowdfunding market by Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, which was published on Tuesday. Data from 31 crowdfunding platforms was taken into account. In total, over 90,000 people provided financial support for crowdfunding campaigns last year. This method of fundraising can be used to finance various projects via platforms on the internet. These include, for example, small loans, but also participation in a start-up, the co-purchase of a property or the financing of a photo book. Crowdfunding projects therefore have an enormously wide range. What they have in common is that, as a rule, many people make an often small amount available and thus enable the realization of a project. The central element of all forms of crowdfunding is direct, internet-based communication between donors and capital recipients. According to the study, there were over 30 platforms in Switzerland at the end of 2015. By April 2016, this figure had even risen to around 40.
Loans increase the most
The crowdlending category, which lends money at interest, grew the most. It grew from 3.5 million to 7.9 million francs. That is an increase of 127 percent. "This strong growth is mainly due to the market entry of platforms that enable not only private individuals but also SMEs to access loans via crowdfunding," explained co-head of the study and finance professor Andreas Dietrich. For SMEs, comparatively large sums of money flow, which drives up the volume. The crowdsupporting/crowddonating category, in which money is given in exchange for goods or services or simply donated without consideration, increased by 60 percent to 12.3 million francs. This means that crowdfunding/crowddonating is still the largest category of crowdfunding. The cultural and creative industries accounted for CHF 5.5 to 6 million of this figure. Crowdinvesting, which provides money in return for a stake in a company or real estate, was driven by investments in real estate, among other things. It increased by 54% to 7.1 million francs. (SDA)
