Crowdfunding platforms in Russia: Methodological tools for agents’ investment decision-making

Modern conditions brought forth digital investment platforms, which have offered new possibilities of raising capital by entrepreneurs. The paper aims to rank these platforms to meet the information and analytical needs of agents in investment decision-making. Methodologically, the paper relies on the ecosystem approach, as well as propositions of digital, collaborative and platform economics. The paper applies the methods of grade rating, coefficient and correlation analysis. The evidence comes from public reports on investment activities of 68 crowdfunding platform operators and other information available on their websites. To rank the platforms, the study considers the factors related to investment activity (competitiveness, market activity, scaling up, etc.) and risks (financial insolvency, credit and litigation risks, etc.) and then designs a method for a rating-based assessment of investment activity and risks. The paper provides a multivariate assessment of investment activity and risks including systemic ones and specific for certain types of crowdfunding. The study presents the ranking of 68 crowdfunding platforms, identifies types of platforms according to the criteria “investment activity – risks”, as well as the criteria of security of investment (Co-Fi, Peers.money, Potok.Digital, InveStore, InvestGO) and association with a high risk. The method can be useful for investors and borrowers to justify their financial decisions; for the Bank of Russia to perform control and supervision procedures; and for professional community to outline directions for the development and promotion of the crowdfunding in Russia