​Crowd Valley was invited to speak at the Globe Forum in Vancouver on enabling institutional capital deployment in the context climate change and the development of ‘green innovation’. Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau opened the event with an enthusiastic outlook on the opportunities at hand and a call to action, and several ministers, institutional funds and technology leaders participated in the keynote sessions, including Crowd Valley’s CEO Markus Lampinen.

​San Francisco and Zurich – February 16 – Crowd Valley Inc, creator of the worlds first digital back office to power online investing and lending marketplaces and the Global Cleantech Cluster Association (“GCCA”) announce they have started working together in the Certified Partner Program to bring digital finance applications to cleantech worldwide. 

Crowdfunding has thus far been traditionally associated with technology, real-estate, start-ups, and P2P, but in recent months the mining industry has been attempting to revive from the lack of support and funding through crowdfunding. The industry is adapting itself in order to gain the support of investors; once adapted, crowdfunding will allow for the mining industry to be ‘out of this world’.

Climate change and global warming are two topics media, policymakers and scientists often talk about. Some see them as an hypothetical future situation, others instead consider them as a present issue. No matter the different stakeholders’ views, the UN, in its last report on climate change, insisted on the necessity to move from fossil fuels towards low-carbon alternatives. In particular, a commonly cited statistic says that there should be an investment of $ 1 trillion by 2030, in order to avoid the worst consequences of climate change.

"The cheapest energy is the energy you don’t use in the first place" Sheryl Crow

Half the energy produced globally is wasted. Measures to address this situation such as making our buildings, lighting, transportation systems and industries more efficient, have long been regarded as the ‘low-hanging fruits’ in delivering a clean energy economy. There is a strong business rational for companies, as well as households, for investing in energy efficiency.

“You always think it is impossible until it is done” Nelson Mandela

Unless we take action on climate change future generations will be “roasted, toasted, fried and grilled” as Christine Lagarde, acting president of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), has put it. Scientists are telling us that we need to leave the vast majority of our fossil fuel reserves safely under ground so that we avoid this fate. But those reserves are already accounted for on the balance sheets of companies active in the fossil fuel sector, contributing to a large part of their market capitalisation.

“Internet technology and renewable energies are beginning to merge to create a new infrastructure for a Third Industrial Revolution”  Jeremy Rifkin

A recent Citibank study (1) concludes that the global energy mix is shifting more widely than anticipated and that the pace of change in the last five years has been dramatic and will likely accelerate, not slow. Another recent study (2) form Deutsche Bank painted a bullish outlook for the global solar market, noting that solar PV is about to enter another growth phase where it can be deployed without subsidies.

“Crowdfunding platforms could naturally evolve to become the primary source of financial services for young generations”  Nathaniel Karp, chief economist for BBVA Research, US Economic Outlook, 2nd Quarter 2013

There is a growing sense that our industrial age capitalism has reached a pivotal point in its evolution. Even people who have long and deep experience of working in the financial system believe it needs change.
There is a big mismatch between the financial support today's real economy needs and what financial markets are able to deliver. The banking industry is run by a select few large organisations, which are allowed to create money effectively out of nothing, and which are big lenders to unsustainable sectors such as the coal industry. 

“Innovation doesn’t happen in a vacuum. You’re never alone. No one has the key just by himself.” Rogier van der Heide

Equity crowdfunding originated in the start-up sector and has successfully proven the innovative power of leveraging an investment ecosystem. It enables investors and other stakeholders to collaboratively contribute to the due diligence process, untap the wisdom of the crowd, verify the credibility of entrepreneurs and provide them with feedback on business ideas and business model assumptions. Crowdfunding gives entrepreneurs access to reputable experts and talents, utilising their expertise and man-power. Furthermore crowdfunding gives entrepreneurs a great tool for receiving market feedback and validation of product features as well as opportunities to build relationships with potential new customers.

“A low-carbon, clean energy economy can be an engine of growth for decades to come”
– President Barack Obama, June 25, 2013

On Tuesday US president Obama announced a comprehensive climate action plan, calling amongst others, for a doubling of renewable energy in the U.S. by 2020. A critical success factor in achieving this goal will be the participation of communities in the ownership and development of clean energy solutions such as renewable energy projects.