Labor and Crowdfunding: If the Future Happens in the South (Futuri)

Summary

• Academic research by Signori and Vismara (2016) estimates the annual return on equity crowdfunding investments at approximately 9%.p.2
• The Italian crowdfunding market registered strong growth early on, raising 8 million with increases of +580% in 2014 and +287% in 2015.p.3
• In the final half of 2016, capital raised via Italian crowdfunding grew by 35% while the number of platforms grew by 46%.p.3
• By June 2017, Italy counted 36 donation and reward platforms with over 8,300 projects raising more than €24 million, alongside 19 equity-based platforms.p.3
• Starteed data indicates total Italian crowdfunding volume reached €133,197,153.17, with €41,406,243.66 collected in 2017 alone.p.3
• Capitalsud launched as a geographic crowdfunding platform targeting Southern Italy, a territory covering 90,459 square kilometers and more than 20 million inhabitants.p.4

Key insights

1. The 2015 US JOBS Act introduced legislative mechanisms allowing everyday citizens to invest online in entrepreneurs.p.1
2. Italy became the first European Union country to create specific equity crowdfunding legislation through the 2012 decreto crescita bis and Consob regulations.p.2
3. Italy extended equity crowdfunding access from innovative startups to all small and medium enterprises (SMEs) under the 2016 stability law.p.3
4. Despite smaller total transaction volumes compared to European peers, Italy experienced higher-than-average market growth rates.p.3
5. Capitalsud combines informational, educational, consulting, and crowdfunding services to support economic and cultural initiatives in Southern Italy.p.4
6. Equity crowdfunding acts as an initial step into financial markets that can prepare a new generation of companies for initial public offerings (IPOs).p.4
7. The project Cercasi Alessandro Magno focuses on internationalization and digitization to promote Made in Italy businesses through storytelling and business training.p.5