Swiss crowdfunding platforms dealt with CHF375 million ($377 million) in 2017, almost three times as much as the previous year. Some 160,000 people supported a crowdfunding project. Over the past eight years, more than half a billion francs have been collected via the “swarm-based form of financing”, said the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts on Monday. Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising small amounts of money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. The main driver of growth in recent years has been the crowdfunded financing of small and medium-sized businesses and investments in property, according to the university. The report’s authors expect crowdfunding in Switzerland to break the billion-franc mark by the end of the year. At the end of April, 43 crowdfunding platforms had a physical presence in Switzerland. Many other internationally focused platforms were not registered in Switzerland.
