Australia’s crowd-sourced funding industry had a late start, nearly eight years after similar initiatives in the UK and the United States. But Birchal’s Matt Vitale says local platforms have quickly ascended to become the second largest crowdfunding industry in the world, in per capita terms, behind only the UK.
“We’ve achieved a lot, and particularly through the covid pandemic, being able to continue to provide capital to businesses during a really difficult time was extremely useful,” he says.
While growth rates are currently not high given the pace of interest rate rises, the industry has seen stable funding volumes even as other forms of startup investment are drying up.
According to the latest industry report from Birchal, Australia’s equity crowdfunding sector raised $64.5 million from 35,000 investors during the 2023-2024 financial year. While the total number of deals increased 16% to 99, and total funding volumes edged up to $65.4 million, the average deal size slipped.
Vitale says that is an indication that more companies have been using crowd-sourced funding, and more investors have been investing in opportunities through CSF platforms.
“It highlights the increasing acceptance and utility of the regime. It’s just that the funding sizes and the investment amounts have been lower, and that’s understandable, given where we’re at in the economic cycle,” he adds.
Birchal was responsible for hosting 66 out of 99 offers, which raised $46.5 million from 27,000 investors. Its closest rival, OnMarket, raised $8.2 million during the financial year.
Other crowdfunding platforms available to local investors include Equitise, VentureCrowd, Kickstarter, Pozible, ReadyFundGo and Swarmer.
