The Importance of Activities of Polish Crowdfunding Portals in Supporting Enterprises

Abstract

Crowdfunding is one of the new forms of financing of enterprises. It takes various forms, but from the perspective of capitalization of business entities, two types are of primarily importance, i.e. equity, for entities that need significant cash outlays, and bonus, for financing low‑capital‑intensive ideas when entrepreneurs want to avoid debt obligations. The subject of the study was equity and bonus crowdfunding (available on active Polish crowdfunding portals) and the current state of its development in Poland. The objectives of the study were: to determine the type and scope of support that entrepreneurs obtain through crowdfunding websites, to identify factors influencing the functioning and development of this sector, to assess the importance of share and bonus crowdfunding by verifying the widespread use of these forms of financing enterprises in the MSME sector in Poland and to determine the impact regulatory risk (especially in the investment model) to this market.

There are many variables that contribute to the development of crowdfunding. For example, important are their non‑financial features, such as the simplicity and speed of obtaining funds and a wide audience that allows for marketing and validation of the idea. There are also many external factors, such as: the level of awareness among entrepreneurs, market trends, the current geopolitical situation, and legislative changes, that regulate this market and the volume of financial resources flowing through it. In the context of determining the impact of regulatory risk, it should be noted that the modification of law regulations has a strong impact on this industry. The analyses carried out allowed the conclusion that in the perspective of expanding the range of forms of financing that provide comprehensive support for enterprises, crowdfunding should be considered an important source of financing. However, from the point of view of the value of crowdfunding capital and the number of supported units on a national scale, this significance is marginal. Currently, the crowdfunding market is facing challenges related to the change of the legal regime and the expansion of control. However, the strong interest of EU institutions in regulating it and the development of the scope of this sector allow to make optimistic assumptions regarding the increase in its importance in Poland in the coming years.