How To Do Crowdfunding In Switzerland?

Raising capital for projects and companies via crowdfunding platforms is popular, especially for start-ups. In 2022, over CHF 650 million was raised via crowdfunding platforms in Switzerland.

Unlike the European Union (see Regulation (EU) 2020/1503 of 7 October 2020), Switzerland has no specific regulation for crowdfunding service providers. Rather, the general Swiss regulatory framework applies. This article is intended to help in navigating the applicable regulatory framework in Switzerland.

What is crowdfunding?

Crowdfunding is an overarching term for various alternative financing methods. These methods have in common that a large number of contributors finance a specific project advertised on a platform. Crowdfunding is inter alia a way to provide capital to SMEs for which i) the capital market is too expensive, and ii) cannot rely on bank loans (e.g. because they do not have access to sufficient collateral).