Dutch Crowdfunding Reaches New Highs

Crowdfunding is seeing significant traction across global markets, but in one particular jurisdiction, researchers are pointing to major growth.

Douw & Koren research released Monday (Jan. 4) said the Netherlands saw its crowdfunding volume double in 2015. A 200 percent increase in this type of funding led to more than $138 million raised by businesses via crowdfunding platforms, compared to just $68 million raised in 2014.

[bctt tweet=”The Netherlands saw its crowdfunding volume double in 2015.”]

On average, startup owners raised about $97,500 for each deal, researchers found, with more than 3,500 deals reached last year.

The most popular type of crowdfunding for Dutch entrepreneurs in 2015 was debt-based, the report found. As 2016 commences, Douw & Koren noted that this year will be a key moment for crowdfunding in the country.

“The core of crowdfunding is participation,” said Simon Douw in a statement. “People who believe in a good plan and the project creator and want to invest in them. Crowdfunding points the way to a fair economy. An economy in which everyone — regardless of the size of his wallet — can invest and immediately see what their money accomplishes.”

In 2016, Douw predicted that the Netherlands, while likely to continue to experience growth in the crowdfunding market, will also see some challenges.

In particular, he said, startups underutilize crowdfunding as a source of working capital, despite widespread awareness of the tactic. Part of the problem may be a lack of transparency in the crowdfunding process; for example, reports said, in the U.K., crowdfunding and alternative finance platforms make public the investments made through their sites. This is not the case in the Netherlands, however.

The nation is also in a position to gain from a combination of traditional banking finance and crowdfunding to support the growth of its SME community, researchers said.