The webinar ‘Proven alternative financing options for solution providers and buyers of first-of-a-kind sustainable transport solutions’ took place on 25 January 2023. The goal of the webinar was to demonstrate the feasibility and accessibility of alternative finance solutions to attract buyers and solution providers towards trying new methods to access funds and financing.

The general introduction about the wide range of currently available alternative finance solutions was made by CrowdFundigHub representative followed by a handful of interesting insights from an experienced VC from SET Ventures: 

• Do your homework and only approach VCs that have a mandate to invest in your type of company. This will win you a lot of time
• VCs know that there are risks: You have to explain how o tackle them, such as hiring key talent for your team
• A typical VC fund will run for 10-12 years. After that, the investors will need to get their money back. When they invest later, there will be more pressure to have a quick exit.

Moreover, the following topics were addressed in detail:

An inspiring story from EASELINK startup in the mobility industry:

Charging solution for electrical vehicles: Running a pilot in Austria that is funded by a combination of (European) grants and Venture Capital.

Explanation of the crowdfunding platform by OnePlanetCrowd about the added value of crowdfunding:

Bicycle company van Moof raised funding from crowdfunders.

Explanation of the free consulting services for mobility startups by CrowdFundigHub:

A select group of startups get a quick scan of their financing possibilities, including tailored advice and (if possible) a warm introduction to VCs, alternative finance providers, and/or public authorities.

You can access the recording for FREE on the ENTRANCE platform:  

https://app.entrance-platform.eu/knowledge-hub/training.html