Crowdfunding is the practice of raising monetary contributions from a large number of people, typically online, to fund a project or venture. In the past 10 years, crowdfunding has evolved into a $16 billion market, largely concentrated in North America and Europe. In developing countries, the crowdfunding market is expected to reach $327 million this year—about 2 percent of the global total. Despite this slow adoption, crowdfunding has been heralded as an opportunity to expand access to capital for entrepreneurs.
To better understand the challenges of crowdfunding in emerging markets, the World Bank Group conducted interviews with a number of East African technology entrepreneurs who ran crowdfunding campaigns, both successful and unsuccessful. From the interviews emerged six lessons about when, why, and how to launch crowdfunding campaigns.