The Crypto Valley Association (CVA) is proud to announce that its Western Switzerland Chapter has now been constituted and begun its activities.

The Chapter will be organising two different events in the coming weeks. The first, Crypto – Disruptions & Opportunities will take place on January 31st in Geneva, and is hosted by the Swiss CFA Society. CVA President Oliver Bussmann will be present as the main speaker. The Chapter will also be hosting the first of its monthly Networking and Drinks meetups on February 6th in Geneva, with LoyaltyCoin and AlpineMining as speakers. Registration for both events is still open, please do not hesitate to join!

Fertile ground for Francophone crypto
The intention to launch this chapter came with the goal of expanding the Crypto Valley Association’s reach as an ecosystem hub to all of Switzerland. As Nicolas Schobinger, head of CVA Western Switzerland, said, “Although the term Crypto Valley currently stands for the corridor from Zurich to Zug, the name is a very strong brand that resonates across the world and is associated with Switzerland as a whole.” This reflects the words of Stefan Kyora, the Editor in Chief of startupticker.ch: “Switzerland has no start-up hub; it is a start-up hub.”

According to Schobinger, there is a growing francophone blockchain ecosystem outside of Swiss borders that is looking to expand, but faces hurdles among other things due to an unclear regulatory framework from the different countries. The members of these ecosystems, above all in France and Canada, have an eye on Western Switzerland, where they can find a French-speaking environment tailored to help and support startups in the crypto world.

The region from Lausanne to Geneva is already a very dynamic blockchain hub, with a lot to offer. As well as benefiting from Switzerland’s startup-friendly regulatory space, Geneva is a hub for both finance and international NGOs, while Lausanne is the home to EPFL and UNIL, two of the world’s premiere academic institutions. Furthermore, according to Startupticker.ch’s ‘Swiss Venture Capital Report 2017’, the cantons of Vaud and Geneva account for close to 65% of the total VC funds invested in Switzerland in 2016.

The goal for this expansion is therefore to help accelerate the development of the blockchain ecosystem in this particular region of Switzerland. The team hopes that this expansion will lead to an increase of new members (individual and corporate) in the region, and the development of a local networking and meetup platform.

Getting up to speed
Progress on the Western Switzerland Chapter has been rapid. The team led by Schobinger (who is also Chair of the Startup Onboarding Working Group) and Raya Mileva, has been working to publish specific guides for the region, to meet with local authorities in Geneva and Lausanne, and to launch the networking platform.

The team is currently looking for sponsors for the various events coming up. Please do not hesitate to contact the team if you have any contacts or interest in this initiative.

Contact:
Nicolas Schobinger – Team Leader Western Switzerland Chapter
e-mail: nschobinger@cryptovalley.swiss

Philippe Henderson – Media Contact Western Switzerland Chapter
e-mail: philippehenderson95@gmail.com
mobile: +41 70 650 17 06