In recent years, crowdfunding has grown from a tool for foundations and artists to raise funding through donations, an alternative to bank financing for SMEs and financing of real estate and renewable energy projects. But who are the financiers of these projects? Are these investors who only look for financial returns, or do they have other expectations? And how do they decide to invest or participate in a project?
To explore these questions, the CrowdfundingHub started with the first edition of the ‘National Crowdfunding Research’ in 2013. This year CrowdfundingHub has taken the initiative to work with the Impact Centre Erasmus (Erasmus University Rotterdam), Sustainable Finance Lab (Utrecht University) and University of Amsterdam in order to provide a more scientific basis for this emergent research field.
