What Is GECA and Why Are Platform Operators Joining the Global Alliance?

The Global Equity Crowdfunding Alliance (GECA)¹ is a global industry alliance focused on bringing the regulated crowdfunding ecosystem together.

GECA’s mission is to connect platforms, regulators, technology providers, and other stakeholders so the industry can collaborate on common challenges rather than solving them separately in every market.

GECA focuses on areas such as:

• Advocacy and education
• Policy development
• Industry networking and collaboration
• Research and data
• Standards and best practices
• Cross-border crowdfunding
• Technology and operational challenges.

Acting as a neutral industry convener, GECA is a place where different participants can share experience and work on issues that affect the market as a whole. 

Why does the industry need a global alliance?

Crowdfunding is inherently digital. A company can run a campaign online, an investor can participate from another country, and the technology behind the platform can be provided from somewhere else entirely.

Regulation, however, remains largely jurisdiction-specific. A platform expanding internationally needs to deal with different requirements for investor onboarding, KYC and AML, marketing, disclosures, payments, investor protection, reporting, and securities issuance.

GECA’s argument is that the industry can make more progress by sharing what already works.

For example, platforms in different countries may face similar questions around:

• How should cross-border investments work?
• How can investor onboarding become more efficient while remaining compliant?
• What standards should apply to digital securities?
• How can platforms improve secondary-market liquidity?
• How should AI² be used in compliance, due diligence, and investor services?
• How can regulators learn from approaches tested in other jurisdictions?

GECA works to create a common space for these discussions and turn the experience of individual platforms into knowledge that can benefit the wider market. Its cross-border initiatives have focused on areas such as ECSPR, US exemptions, payments, KYC/AML, translations, and secondary-market liquidity. 

“Equity” is only part of the picture

The name may make GECA sound like an organization focused only on startup equity rounds. In practice, its scope is much broader.

GECA’s community covers different types of regulated crowdfunding, including:

• Equity crowdfunding
• Real estate crowdfunding
• Peer-to-peer lending
• Debt
• Bonds
• Other regulated alternative-finance models

This broader approach makes sense because many of the challenges are similar across different models.

A real estate crowdfunding platform and an equity platform may offer very different investment products, but both need reliable investor onboarding, compliance processes, investor communication, payments, reporting, and appropriate technology.

Four reasons why crowdfunding platforms join GECA

For platform operators, membership is about more than adding another industry logo to a website. The main value is being part of a network that can help shape how the market develops.

Building a collective voice

GECA brings platforms together with regulators, industry associations, technology companies, researchers, and other stakeholders. This creates a space to discuss how regulation and market infrastructure can develop.

Sharing practical experience

Crowdfunding platforms often face similar operational challenges in different countries.

A platform that has already solved an onboarding, compliance, technology, or investor-experience problem can share what it has learned with others. This means other operators do not have to start from scratch.

This is one of the reasons GECA focuses on standards and best practices.

Exploring cross-border opportunities

Expanding into new markets can be difficult when each market has its own rules and practices.

GECA aims to create a more connected crowdfunding market where capital can move across borders more easily while still following the right regulatory requirements.

For operators planning to expand, joining this conversation can help them learn how other platforms and markets deal with similar challenges.

Keeping up with technology

Technology is changing how crowdfunding platforms operate. This includes automated compliance processes, AI-assisted due diligence, and new ways to engage with investors.

In July 2026, GECA launched its first official AI Governance Task Force² to explore responsible AI adoption in crowdfunding. The task force is looking at issues such as human oversight, transparency, accountability, and practical guidance for platforms.

This is a good example of an issue that can benefit from a collective approach. Platforms may compete for investors and issuers, but they still face many of the same questions about how new technology should be used responsibly.

GECA reaches “The first 100”

GECA’s development has accelerated. In July 2026, the alliance announced that it had reached 100 member organisations, calling the milestone “The First 100.”³ The founding members span crowdfunding platforms, industry associations, technology providers, researchers, academics, legal and professional service providers, and other stakeholders across the global market.

Importantly, GECA says these members span every continent, bringing together established market participants and newer platforms from different regions and crowdfunding models.

A list of GECA participants and platforms

GECA’s network includes a mix of established crowdfunding platforms, technology companies, market researchers, and industry organizations.

Some notable participants include:

• LenderKit – white-label investment and crowdfunding software provider
• CrowdSpace – crowdfunding platform directory and industry information hub
• Republic Europe – European private investment platform and part of the Republic ecosystem
• StartEngine – major US equity crowdfunding and private-market platform
• Netcapital – US investment and capital-raising platform
• CrowdedHero – European equity crowdfunding platform
• Raise Green – US crowdfunding platform focused on climate and sustainable infrastructure
• Green Crowd – Irish crowdfunding platform focused on sustainable projects
• DealMaker – technology platform supporting online capital raising
• Thunder Funder – US Regulation Crowdfunding funding portal
• Equivesto – Canadian equity crowdfunding platform
• Crowdium – Argentine real estate crowdfunding platform
• TokePortal – European equity crowdfunding platform
• Wunderfund – US startup crowdfunding platform

The membership in GECA reflects different business models, asset classes, regulatory environments, and technology roles.

LenderKit’s role in GECA

LenderKit is involved in GECA not only as a supporter but also through its leadership.

In October 2024, Konstantin Boyko, CEO and Co-founder of LenderKit and CrowdSpace, joined GECA’s Steering Committee as a Strategic Adviser. He brings more than 15 years of experience in fintech and crowdfunding, including experience helping businesses launch and operate crowdfunding platforms across Europe, the US, MENA, Asia, and other markets.

For LenderKit, this involvement⁴ is a natural extension of its work with investment platforms.

LenderKit provides the technology infrastructure that businesses use to launch customizable crowdfunding and private-market investment platforms. That gives the company a perspective that goes beyond a single crowdfunding model or jurisdiction.

Konstantin has also participated directly in GECA discussions. He moderated the alliance’s “Breaking Down Borders”⁵ roundtable, which examined practical ways platforms can enable greater cross-border deal access and visibility. The discussion covered regulation, payments, KYC/AML, translations, technology, and secondary-market liquidity.

LenderKit’s involvement therefore reflects a broader idea: technology providers can be part of the infrastructure of the crowdfunding industry, not simply vendors to individual platforms. 

Its participation fits directly with its own position in the market: helping businesses build the technology behind modern investment platforms while contributing to the wider development of crowdfunding as a global financial industry. 

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