The tenth report by the Crowdinvesting Observatory of the Politecnico di Milano, published in July 2025, highlights a difficult period for Italian crowdfunding, with particular reference to equity, lending and debt crowdfunding. Although signs of a slowdown had already emerged in the previous year, the critical issues became more pronounced in 2025, making the report a key document for understanding the causes and prospects of this sector.
Crowdfunding figures in Italy
In the period from July 2024 to July 2025, the crowdfunding market contracted by 14%, with a total of €260.65 million raised.
The number of platforms authorised in Italy under the new ECSP Regulation rose to 42, placing our country second in Europe in terms of the number of authorised portals, after France. However, some platforms have withdrawn their authorisation due to regulatory burdens.
The success rate of campaigns remains high: 88% in equity crowdfunding and 100% in lending crowdfunding; the number of campaigns and the volume raised have fallen most significantly.
There has also been a gradual improvement in female participation, which rose to 19% from 16% in the previous year.
Equity crowdfunding scenario
According to the report, the difficulties stem mainly from:
- Rising interest rates;
- Uncertainty on global markets, which is pushing investors towards more liquid and low-risk instruments;
- An initial reduction in the number of platforms transitioning to the new ECSP regulation, which is now less significant.
Among the more fundamental causes are the discrepancy between expectations and results of post-equity crowdfunding start-ups, the difficulty in creating an efficient secondary market and the lack of guarantees in lending crowdfunding.
In 2024-2025, 160 equity crowdfunding campaigns were launched, of which 142 were successfully completed. The sector is expanding beyond innovative start-ups: only 28.6% of campaigns are represented by the latter, while a significant share concerns SMEs and investment vehicles.
The average amount raised is approximately €260,000 for non-real estate projects and €1.14 million for real estate projects, a growing sector, with 30.6% of equity campaigns dedicated to real estate.
Lombardy remains the leading region in terms of the number of issuing companies.
Lending, debt and real estate crowdfunding
For the first time, lending crowdfunding also showed a decline, although it maintained a 100% success rate on the 391 campaigns launched, most of which (74%) were real estate-related. There are 20 active platforms, with an average annual return of 10.07%. The rise in interest rates has made this form of financing less attractive to businesses.
Minibonds, after strong growth in 2024, recorded a decline, with €7.65 million raised in a still underdeveloped market.
Real estate crowdfunding remains the main driver of the market, accounting for the majority of both equity and lending. In the second half of 2024, the sector achieved record fundraising of over €100 million in six months. However, 2025 saw a slight slowdown (-5.1%), mainly due to lending, while real estate equity continued to grow.
Future prospects
Despite the difficulties highlighted, Italian crowdfunding shows signs of great potential for development. The joint commitment of investors, platforms and businesses, supported by increasingly clear and rigorous regulation, is promoting the progressive professionalisation of the sector.
These elements will make it possible to overcome the current challenges, improving transparency, governance and the quality of campaigns. In addition, increasing digitalisation and the introduction of innovative risk management tools will open up new opportunities for development, making crowdfunding an increasingly strategic and reliable tool in the Italian alternative financing landscape.
The market is therefore ready to relaunch itself, focusing on a sustainable model that promotes fairer and more transparent access to capital, benefiting the entrepreneurial ecosystem and investors.
With a synergistic commitment between institutional and retail investors, crowdfunding platforms and issuing companies, the Italian crowdinvesting market is evolving towards greater maturity and resilience, despite the current challenges. This process is supported by the adoption and progressive implementation of stricter and more uniform regulations, such as the ECSP (European Crowdfunding Service Provider) Regulation, which defines uniform standards at European level for transparency, governance and investor protection.
These regulations promote the professionalisation of the sector by imposing stricter requirements on compliance, due diligence and information disclosure, which are key to increasing investor confidence and facilitating access to broader and more diversified sources of capital. At the same time, the adoption of advanced risk analysis and campaign scoring technologies, together with increasingly sophisticated digital platforms, allows for a more accurate assessment of investment opportunities and improved portfolio management.
On the business side, the integration of crowdfunding as a complementary tool to traditional financing channels allows for more direct and rapid access to risk or debt capital, encouraging a more dynamic ecosystem of innovation and growth, particularly for innovative start-ups and SMEs. Furthermore, the development of secondary markets for equity crowdfunding shares is a potential catalyst for liquidity, a crucial factor in attracting institutional investors and improving market efficiency.
In this context, the convergence of regulatory, technological and market factors outlines a path of sustainable growth for Italian crowdfunding, which is set to consolidate itself as a strategic lever for innovative financing, characterised by high standards of transparency, governance and accessibility. The prospects for development in the coming years are therefore very positive, with the opportunity to integrate hybrid financing models and expand the offering to new sectors and qualified investors.