On the 15th and 16th of November, EUROCROWD organised the 12th European Crowdfunding Convention in Milan, Italy. Celebrating its 10th anniversary with the theme "Ready, Set, Restart," the event, hosted by LCA Studio Legale, was a key moment for professional actors from the European crowdfunding sector.

Over the course of two days, the convention took a deep dive into the evolution of national markets, particularly emphasizing the transition to the European Crowdfunding Service Providers Regulation (ECSPR). We had the unique opportunity to hear firsthand insights from Europe’s leading platform operators and some of the most active national competent authorities experiences with the transition to ECSPR, representing a majority of transaction value and volume across Europe. This allowed for a comprehensive understanding of the challenges and successes encountered by crowdfunding platforms. The discussions addressed the complexities of the legal framework, opportunities to navigate threats and opportunities, and tackling taxation issues – with the emphasis on intertwining regulatory practices, legal considerations, and collaborative efforts.

A special highlight was the revelation of CROWD-IP 1 during the fireside chat on Intellectual Property (IP), SMEs, and investment. Launched in October 2023 through collaboration between the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) and EUROCROWD. CROWDIP promises to tackle questions and knowledge on IP for small- and medium-sized enterprises in general and with regard to early stage funding, including crowdfunding, alternative and digital finance. Our goal is to help to unlock the power of Intellectual Property for small- and medium sized businesses in creating tangible assets for investors early on – and help to prepare the crowdfunding market to better make use of the existing opportunities within IP.

We also aimed at addressing also other key issues for the sector today to create a holistic understanding of the crowdfunding landscape:

• Match-Funding: Unpacking best practices for aligning crowdfunding with public resources and to maximize opportunities for all stakeholders.
• National crowdfunding ecosystems: Thorough exploration to set the stage for examining collaboration among national ecosystems in Europe.
• ECSPR:

A clear outcome of the convention is a need for synergy to propel the industry forward, be it amongst national ecosystems, market participants, other markets and policy makers. The complexity of today’s digital opportunities in financial services cannot be addressed by one market, regulators or policy makers alone. EUROCROWDs long-standing alliances with a broad range of industry associations and sectors can only be a first step and we will seek to establish further collaboration with professional counterparts across Europe.