Crowdfunding the future
Banks and venture-capitalists beware! Crowd-funding is here! People are increasingly posting their ideas on crowd-funding platforms in the hopes that other like-minded individuals will help fund their projects.
In the past, when people needed funding for artistic pursuits or business ventures, the bank was usually the first port of call. Today, with the increasing saturation of Internet access, those same people are turning to a new phenomenon known as crowd funding. Crowd funding is simple. A person has an idea and posts it on a website, along with a funding target. People who like the idea then pledge an amount of money towards the target and when the target is reached, the funds are dispensed and the project begins. Organisations such as Kickstarter, Indiegogo and Pozible are at the forefront of this new wave of grass-roots patronage. Crowd funding generated $2.7 billion dollars worldwide in 2012 and it is estimated will generate $5 billion dollars this year.