Green Crowd’s mission to provide funding for renewable companies continues to grow

Last Updated on 06/01/2025 by Green Crowd

Green Crowd’s mission to provide funding for renewable companies continues to grow apace with Europe being its next step

Founded in 2020, Green Crowd has established itself as a forerunner in raising funds for companies specialising in renewable energy and sustainable infrastructure. Since then, more than €5.3 million has been raised for five different companies, demonstrating a steady and methodical approach to crowdfunding in an industry that continues to gain traction.

The Central Bank of Ireland recently authorised it to act as a Crowdfunding Service Provider per the new EU-wide regulatory framework, giving it a significant boost in expanding to Europe. This allows Carlow-based Green Crowd to expand its offerings and provide a broader range of investment opportunities as it prepares for 2025.

“As part of that authorisation, we’re able to offer cross-border funding within the EU,” explained Janine Donoghue, operations manager at Green Crowd. “We’re looking to do so in the new year, and that’s why we’re looking for investment to update our platform.”

To prepare for this, Green Crowd has focused on the Irish market for 2024 to ensure it has all the pieces in place for when it expands its operations. With two independent non-executive directors and a head of compliance now in place, Green Crowd wants to make sure that it is ready for its expansion to give investors the best possible choice of green investments from across Europe.

“It does give investors comfort knowing that we are regulated and that we’ve ticked all those boxes for the Central Bank, so we’re looking forward to broadening our horizons,” Donoghue said.

“We do a lot of due diligence on companies beyond what’s required under the authorisation. We want to ensure they’re as safe as possible for our investors, so we help the companies through the crowdfunding process and with the administration afterwards.”

What sets Green Crowd apart from other firms is that it focuses on asset-based companies. While its aim is to offer funding opportunities to as many areas within the green and renewable space as possible, its requirements are stringent to ensure that investors get the best possible options. “We’ve seen a huge surge of new investors register with us in the last six months, and the same is true for companies looking to raise funds,” Donoghue said. “We are selective about the companies we work with; if they don’t fit our niche, we pass. Our focus is on aligning with what our investors are truly interested in.”

“We have to watch out for greenwashing from companies too, so we scrutinise their offerings carefully. Many companies reaching out to us don’t meet our standards, but we make sure any company we take on aligns with our investors’ expectations.”

The number of investors in Green Crowd’s community has grown significantly in the years it has been operating. Many repeat investors add further confidence to the work it is doing, and its focus on long-term investments under EIIS ensures a healthy collection of regular and new investors.

The team’s focus and tight-knit nature allow Green Crowd to focus on developing relationships with investors and companies. “We’re looking at longer-term investments and have a great community of investors,” Donoghue said. “We have had a lot of repeat investors over the years that are interested in the renewable space, so because we’re quite small, we have personal relationships with our investors. They’re more than just numbers to us—they’re people we genuinely value.”

For Green Crowd, its EIIS journey will see funding go towards its European expansion. It is looking at adding a wind project to its list of crowdfunded companies. It will also look to take on legal and tax advisors from other countries to ensure its cross-border efforts progress smoothly.

Green Crowd’s core ethos is providing the opportunity to invest in renewable companies. It is committed to helping green and renewable companies across Ireland and Europe. Having a solid base in Ireland means it can expand confidently.

“The cross-border crowdfunding is one of our priorities for 2025, so we are looking into getting everything set up for our expansion,” she said. “Down the line, we’re looking at offering green bonds where companies can apply for funding from a green bond that we raise from investors; those are the next steps.

“It’s about giving more opportunities to invest in green and renewable projects as there’s a lot of interest around it. We’re hoping to capture that market and offer investors more choice.”