Crowdfunding in France: Launching Your Own Platform in 2022

Based on the size of the French crowdfunding market, it is clear that the country provides lucrative conditions for firms looking to launch crowdfunding platforms and benefit from this attractive financing model.

Let’s examine the details to see whether the market in France actually holds as much promise for crowdfunding as it may seem. We will also review the legal environment for crowdfunding in France and the steps to follow to ensure your crowdfunding initiative is successful.

Current crowdfunding market conditions in France

In 2022, the French crowdfunding market reached an unprecedented level of €1,02 billion collected by 37 platforms resulting in a sharp increase of 62.2% over the previous year. The leading type of crowdfunding, lending-based crowdfunding, accounts for 72,7% of the market.

Crowdfunding based on donations and rewards

Market growth in French donation-based crowdfunding was the greatest in 2020. In 2019, this figure was only €79,6 million, an increase of 174%. It is estimated that €146 million was collected by donations without rewards, while €72,5 million was collected by donations with rewards.

The success rates of donation-based projects are relatively high: 75,88% for donations without rewards and 75,54% for donations with rewards. In 2022, crowdfunding campaigns are expected to receive average funding of US $23.94 thousand.

Equity crowdfunding in France

Equity-based crowdfunding accounted for 59,2 million euros in 2020 being the smallest branch of the French crowdfunding market. 

Capital crowdfunding and royalty crowdfunding are the two main types of equity-based crowdfunding:

• €57,1 million was raised by capital crowdfunding in 2020, investing in 522 projects with 16.737 investors
• 1.146 investors funded a total of 36 projects for a total of €2,1 million in royalty crowdfunding

Financing-based crowdfunding

The amount lent by French-based crowdfunding platforms in 2020 increased by 46% over 2019. 

Real estate and renewable energy accounted for three-quarters of the volume collected. 90% of the loan market is made up of bond-based loans.

COVID-19 introduced state-guaranteed loans into the crowdfunding market. These loans accounted for only a tiny share of the €4,80 million raised to finance 94 projects. These funds were invested in a variety of sectors. The economic sector received a total of €740,6 million in investments, followed by the social sector with €1 million. The cultural sector received only €0,1 million.

Crowdfunding legislation in France: Get familiar with the law

The new crowdfunding regulatory framework in France is undergoing a dramatic change. Decree 2022-110, supplemented by Order 2021-1735 of December 2021, adapted the French crowdfunding framework to address the consequences of the new regulation.

Essentially, these instruments abolish the French regime for crowdfunding investment advisers (CIAs) and investment service providers authorized to offer financial securities online under Article L. 533-22-3 of the Monetary and Financial Code.

The existing crowdfunding intermediary regime will cover only activities involving interest-free loans and donations.

From now on, Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) will handle the authorization, supervision, sanctioning, and revocation of approval of crowdfunding service providers.

If a crowdfunding service provider facilitates the granting of loans, the AMF will not authorize them until Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution –  (ACPR, or Prudential Supervision and Resolution Authority) has given them a favorable opinion on whether or not such players should be supervised and monitored.

This means that before engaging in a crowdfunding service activity within the scope of the Regulation, any person seeking to do so must obtain authorization from the crowdfunding service provider.

The European regime will, however, exist alongside national rules for platforms existing on 10 November 2021 for a 12-month transition period after entry into force of the Regulation.

As of 10 November 2022, only service providers authorized as crowdfunding service providers will be able to offer the crowdfunding services covered by the Regulation. It is a criminal offense to engage in this activity without authorization (Articles L. 573-12 and following the Monetary and Financial Code).

Here’s the brief guidance on proceeding with crowdfunding activities in France.

How to get started on the French crowdfunding market

Before crowdfunding services are provided, the Authorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) must approve the application within three months of receiving the file.

Here’s a brief overview of the six stages of the authorization process:

Prepare the AMF presentation 

To present the project to the AMF and, if necessary, to the ACPR before the authorization application is formally filed, the applicant contacts psfp@amf-france.org. This stage is recommended to allow for prior discussion of any difficulties or complexities within the file.

Submit the authorization application via ROSA extranet

This event will trigger the deadlines for submitting applications and completing examinations. Your ROSA extranet credentials will be provided to you.

The AMF has prepared a standardized form and a standard letter for authorizing a company according to ESMA’s draft technical and regulatory standards for adoption by the Commission in 2022. You will receive these copies when you begin the application. These documents must be attached to the application to help reduce the risk of rejection due to an incomplete application and facilitate its examination.

During the application examination phase, communicate with the AMF and, where appropriate, with the ACPR.

The AMF examines the application after it is completed and determines whether or not the applicant will be approved. The authorization cannot be issued until the Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution (ACPR) has approved the applicant’s program of operations, including the facilitation of lending. 

The AMF and ACPR may, during this phase, exchange information with the company regarding the information in the application. Application processing time is affected by the quality and timeliness of the response.

Once the application has been verified as complete, the AMF decides whether to facilitate lending as part of the application.

Please note that crowdfunding advisers and intermediaries may be granted authorization more quickly than new players because the requirements have already been applied.

Another essential thing to note: For the protection of the public, detailed information about the project to be underfunded, the securities to be offered, and the fees to be paid by investors must be published on the crowdfunding platform’s website.

Advantages of a crowdfunding platform

Crowdfunding platforms help you get financial support from the public through donations or investments quickly and easily. With an excellent online crowdfunding website, you can reach people in your area and worldwide for your project, and you are independent of government funds.

Crowdfunding opportunities in France

There are also a wide variety of crowdfunding opportunities in France. However, each platform specializes in different types of crowdfunding:

Donation-based crowdfunding is one of the most commonly used forms of crowdfunding. In this form, donations remain without consideration. The organizer of a campaign is therefore not obliged to pay back the funds to its donors or give them any other form of donation. 

Equity-based crowdfunding: Share-based crowdfunding is used to fund a project, typically the creation or development of a company or business. The donors take on the role of investors. The donors receive company shares for their investment.

Reward-based: In reward-based crowdfunding, each donation is rewarded, typically with a service or item.

Money processing for crowdfunding in France: Important things to know

The maximum amount of project funding via crowdfunding in the European Union, including France, is €5 million. The maximum investment per project for non-sophisticated investors is €1,000 per 12 months period. 

According to the new European regulations, any entity that receives money on behalf of a third party must call on a payment institution. In France, crowdfunding platforms usually turn to Lemonway, a crowdfunding payment gateway, to collect and process payments.

With this information, let’s look at the top crowdfunding platforms operating in France.

Most popular crowdfunding platforms in France

Crowdfunding platforms in France vary by type and include all sorts of them from debt and equity crowdfunding to rewards-based and donation crowdfunding.

KissKissBankBank

Launched in 2009, KissKissBankBank remains true to its three core values as it pioneers crowdfunding in France. It offers a crowdfunding platform for creatives, athletes, and humanists to raise funds for their projects. Kisskissbankbank Technologies is located in Paris, Ile-de-France, France.

My Capital Immo

This is a crowdfunding platform dedicated to real estate. Business support includes the creation, development, and takeover of a company. With the P2P lending model, the minimum investment is €1000. 

Babyloan

This is the French leader of philanthropic crowdfunding, specializing in microloans, donations, and small personal loans. Almost 40,000 micro-entrepreneurs in France and the world have raised more than €20 million through the platform since its launch in 2008.

WiSEED

Another French crowdfunding veteran, WiSEED has been the French leader in crowdfunding since 2008. A specialist in unlisted investments, WiSEED offers individuals the opportunity to diversify their portfolios in the real, brick-and-mortar economy and provides businesses with quick access to funds to support their growth.

Leetchi

This is a donation-based and equity-based crowdfunding platform for small businesses and private individuals. For example, you can easily collect money for group birthdays, weekend getaways with friends, and charitable donations.

Proarti

This art-focused fund strives to assist artists with diversifying their funding sources and creating new connections with audiences. Social innovation and art are convergent in this project. The fund launch was supported by France’s Ministry of Culture and Communication.

Ulule

This is a well-known community-backed incubator of “positive impact projects in the world,” as they call it. The organization’s mission is to empower people to take action to create a more diverse, sustainable, and inclusive world. By working with creators, Ulule helps them turn ideas into action, succeed and grow their projects to make a greater impact.

Now that you have a brief idea of the crowdfunding platform landscape in France, you can make better decisions about launching your crowdfunding initiative. What’s the next step?

How to create your crowdfunding platform in France

LenderKit is a white-label crowdfunding platform that is suitable for SME investing firms or real estate financing companies in France and can also be customized from the ground up.

LenderKit has experience building crowdfunding software solutions for startups and large companies and helps businesses launch in regulated markets such as the USA, Europe, UK, and the MENA region. 

On the technology side, we assist you in preparing the wireframes, as well as setting up a demo environment and any other stuff you may need to get licensed. We also fully develop your crowdfunding platform to help you enter the production stage and become a competitive crowdfunding marketplace. 

If you would like to consult with a fintech strategist directly about setting up your crowdfunding platform in France, you can review the LenderKit tour first or fill in the contact form.