Property is driving growth in the crowdfunding market
The Swiss crowdfunding market grew again in 2025 for the first time since the record year of 2021. A study by the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts shows that a total of 629 million Swiss francs was raised via crowdfunding platforms. Property projects are driving this growth.
The volume of the Swiss crowdfunding market rose by 14 per cent to 629 million Swiss francs in 2025. According to a press release on the Crowdfunding Monitor 2026, an annual study published by the Institute for Financial Services Zug (IFZ) at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HSLU), this marks the first increase since the record year of 2021.
The main driver of growth was crowdlending: a total of 480 million Swiss francs was brokered in this segment. This represents more than 75 per cent of the total market volume and an increase of 18 per cent compared with the previous year. In crowdlending, numerous investors grant loans to companies or private individuals, thereby providing debt capital.
Crowdlending loans to finance property projects were particularly in demand in 2025. According to the study, the background to this is the implementation of the Basel III Final reform package on 1 January 2025. Since then, Swiss banks have been required to set aside higher levels of capital for riskier loans. This has led to more cautious and more expensive lending, particularly in the property development sector. As a result, crowdlending platforms are increasingly positioning themselves as an attractive financing alternative.
The crowdsupporting/crowddonating segment also saw significant growth, rising by 30 per cent. In crowdsupporting, investors receive one-off rewards, such as products, artistic works or services. According to the study, crowddonating involves pure donations to social, charitable and cultural projects. The category with the highest volume was Sport & Health, with 13 million Swiss francs brokered. At the same time, crowdsupporting is showing increasing market concentration: more than 80 per cent of the brokered volume was accounted for by the three largest platforms.
The crowdinvesting sector, in which investors participate in companies or property in return for a share of the profits, recorded a slight decline, however. The volume facilitated fell by 2.8 per cent in 2025 to 113.8 million Swiss francs.