LenderKit Visits the 4th International Conference for Alternative Finance Research
On June 3–4, 2025, LenderKit’s CEO Konstantin Boyko attended the 4th International Conference for Alternative Finance Research (ICAFR) at the University of Agder School of Business and Law in Kristiansand, Norway. As a leading event that blends academic rigor with industry relevance, ICAFR is quickly becoming one of the go-to conferences for meaningful conversations around crowdfunding, crypto-assets, digital lending and prosocial finance.
For LenderKit, participation in ICAFR represents a deep commitment not only to the technological development of investment platforms, but also to research collaboration, policy alignment and long-term ecosystem growth.
What you will learn in this post:
A Space Where Academia Meets Industry
With 68 participants, 44 research studies, and an expanding network of reviewers, moderators and thought leaders, ICAFR continues to scale in both depth and relevance. The 2025 edition showcased a wide array of sessions, including parallel tracks on legal, financial and technological dimensions of alternative finance.
Konstantin took part in multiple discussions exploring:
- The future of platform governance and regulatory compliance
- Cross-disciplinary innovation in fundraising and investing
Practical challenges in applying academic research to real-world platform operations
It’s always refreshing to be at ICAFR — you get to dive into complex topics with people who care deeply about getting things right. The conference is growing fast, and the discussions just keep getting richer.
Konstantin Boyko, CEO at LenderKit
Keeping the Tradition Alive
One highlight was the traditional annual photo with Rotem Shneor, a respected figure in the crowdfunding research community. As Konstantin put it:
It’s always good to see old friends, make new ones and keep learning together.
LenderKit’s Role in the Conversation
LenderKit continues to stand at the intersection of industry application and research-driven insight. The relevance of the joint market report by CrowdSpace, LenderKit and the UiA Crowdfunding Research Center — still cited 1.5 years after release — is a testament to this positioning.
Being part of ICAFR helped us:
- Reconnect with academic partners and research centers
- Reflect on the challenges and gaps between theory and practice
- Explore new collaborative research opportunities for platform development and innovation
About LenderKit
LenderKit offers white-label software for launching and growing investment and crowdfunding platforms. Applicable to many use cases like private placements, digital lending and crowdfunding across different regulatory environments — we empower platforms to launch quickly, stay compliant and adapt their infrastructure to meet evolving investor and market expectations.
Want to build your own crowdfunding platform? Don’t hesitate to reach out to us.
