Pushing sustainability through Crowdfunding

Crowd4Climate offers a platform to invest in small amounts in promising projects in Germany, Austria and developing countries to help companies implement projects dedicated to reducing greenhouse gasses. One such company is Mpower, a B2B platform that provides small- and medium-scale solar energy solutions in emerging markets. Its offering includes decentralised, high-quality plug-and-play solar devices and energy-efficient household and income-generating appliances that provide electricity to lower- and middle-income households, SMEs, and farmers in Africa. Already in seven African countries, Mpower employs 52 people and is now set for further growth. As its third campaign, Mpower aims to secure funds to expand its distribution network by strengthening its B2B alliances and corporate partnerships, diversifying its product portfolio and expanding third-party financing offerings and microloans. With eight weeks left, the campaign has so far received more than €87,000. 

rrrevolve secures CHF 500,000
A pioneer of sustainable fashion, Zurich-based startup rrrevolve offers sustainable products, primarily clothing, shoes and accessories and home textiles, household items and gifts via its omni-channel dealer and the online shop. The company runs three branches in Zurich and Bern and two second-season branches in Basel and Winterthur. In the past years, the company has been able to increase its sales in a difficult time and industry and has so far generated an annual turnover of over CHF 8 million without external investors. Last year, rrrevolve grew its customer base to over 100,000 customers and generated a turnover of just over 8 million francs. Supported by a team of 30 people. To further strengthen its position in the market, rrrevolve is running a crowdfunding campaign via Conda, which has already raised more than CHF 500,000. With a month left, rrrevolve aims to raise CHF 1.5 million. 

Paygreen to foster sustainable eCommerce
The new campaign for PayGreen aims to push the startup to the next level in the eCommerce market. As a Swiss alternative to conventional payment methods such as credit card, PayPal and Twint, PayGreen enables anyone to actively and easily contribute to environmental protection at no additional cost. While online shops pay fees to payment providers, with paygreen, the amount of the fee depends on the CO2 footprint - the higher the emissions, the higher the fees. In addition to support from early investors, the PayGreen solution is supported by other industry experts such as Malte Polzin (former CEO of brack.ch), Thierry Kneisler (former founder & CEO Twint) or Google for Startups. Since launching in 2023, the PayGreen had a positive growth and a first successful crowdfunding campaign, the startup now seeks to further expand its community base. The target goal for the new campaign is CHF 500’000, with close to 12 percent already secured. 

Crowdfunding platform OOMNIUM celebrates first anniversary
Crowdfunding has grown in prominence in the startup scene, with more campaigns being launched and new platforms established. The latest platform, OOMNIUM, was founded by crowdfunding pioneers at wemakeit, went live in May 2023, and aims to enable startups and Small and Mid-Sized companies striving to reach higher ecological, social and societal a well as financial goals to raise growth funding. In celebration of its first year, the platform looks back to more than 5,300 shareholders who invested around CHF 7 million in seven different startups. In January, the startup listed three new startups seeking funding. These include photoSCHWEIZ, a digital and analogue photography platform, Ariv, a start-up in the coliving growth market and Bakery Bakery, a vegan bakery chain. 

(RAN)