Master thesis: What makes Nordic retail investors choose impact crowdfunding?
Why did crowdfunding shrink, and what makes investors choose impact? Write your master thesis with Trine in Gothenburg, spring 2027, with an optional stay in Nairobi, Kenya.
About Trine
Trine is a Gothenburg-based platform, founded in 2015. Retail investors, mainly Swedish, lend to clean-energy companies in emerging markets. About 15,000 people have invested about EUR 118 million.
The question
Crowdfunding volumes have fallen. In Finland they went from EUR 377 million in 2021 to EUR 24 million in 2024. Our own number of new investors has fallen too. Why? Is the group of Nordic retail investors willing to lend to unlisted impact projects smaller, and what does it take to win them?
What you will do
Map the Nordic impact-investing ecosystem: who is involved, how capital flows, where Trine sits.
Size the addressable market for retail impact lending (low, base and high case).
Find out what makes an investor choose Trine over the alternatives, through interviews and a survey.
Optional: spend a few weeks with our team in Nairobi to see how an investment becomes impact.
You deliver
The thesis, an ecosystem map, an editable market-size model, and recommendations presented to the Trine team.
You are
A business-oriented student who likes digging into data and people.
Practical
One or two students, 20 weeks (30 ECTS), probably spring 2027, with visits at Trine in Gothenburg. You get weekly supervision from a named Trine contact. Trine can’t pay a fee, and students seek travel funding for Nairobi through their university.
- Locations
- Gothenburg, Sweden, Nairobi, Kenya
- Remote status
- Hybrid
Join our team
We’re an ambitious team, driven by making real change and creating a powerful legacy. We are all from different culture, collaborating to adress global challenges by work across borders. Our organisation is one team which means responsibility and endless possibilities. Want to join us?
About Trine
Trine is a crowdfunding platform where private individuals invest in solar energy companies in emerging markets – Vietnam, Kenya, India, and more. Our ~15,000 investors manage their portfolios, track repayments, and earn a returns through our platform.
We hold payment and crowdfunding licenses and manage the transfer of funds between investors and borrowers across multiple currencies and markets. This is regulated fintech, not a side project.
We’re a team of 8 based in Gothenburg, Nairobi and team members spread across our markets. Twice a year the whole company meets up somewhere in the world.