Crowdfunding in Nigeria; 10 ways to raise funds from large number of people

In this post, we discuss Crowdfunding in Nigeria. Here you will see 10 ways to raise funds from a large number of people. You can use this money for a project, events, charity and business startups.

Crowdfunding is the process of funding a project or business venture by raising a small amount of money from a relatively large amount of people, usually through the internet or social media.

It is also popularly called social media fundraising, online fundraising, or peer-to-peer fundraising. Crowdfunding is an alternative form of raising funds different from obtaining bank loans or grants.

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While traditional fundraising involves raising large funds from one source – like bank loans or grants – at a time, crowdfunding focuses on raising a small amount of money from a large number of people.

Crowdfunding has become quite popular among entrepreneurs and prospective business owners across the world, who are looking to start up a new venture or carry out one project or another.

It can also be used to raise money for the treatment of persons with diseases, as well as by NGOs to fund community-oriented projects.

In 2015 alone, over $34 billion was raised worldwide through crowdfunding. Crowdfunding in today’s world is basically through the internet, where the entrepreneurs or project initiators go to a crowdfunding website and lay out their project, advertising it on the website for those who are interested in the idea/project to decide to fund it into reality.

While those who fund these projects may not necessarily gain financially, in some cases, some incentives come into play.

For example, they might gain the option to pre-order the product before it is completed, and also have a say in its development, as well as discounts on sales, and notable mentions as contributors to the product’s development. Crowdfunding has been used to fund several projects, business ideas, medical expenses, travel expenses, etcetera.

There has, however, been criticism, as it has also been used to fund quackery and fraudulent activities. Here in this article, we’ll be looking at the top 10 crowdfunding sites in Nigeria.

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1. Kickstarter

One of the most popular names, if not the most popular name, in the world, when it comes to crowd fundraising, Kickstarter was launched in 2009, and since it’s launch, has funded over 156,000 projects, with over $4.1 billion raised.

On Kickstarter, backers – those who contribute to the funding of the projects – receive incentives (t-shirts, discounts, shutouts, etcetera) to support projects.

Thus, they’re said to run a reward-based system. They also run an all-or-nothing system, where if you don’t get the complete money needed for the project, the money would be returned to the investors.

Otherwise, you have full access to funds raised. Because of this, projects on Kickstarter are usually creative and highly profitable.

2. Indiegogo

Indiegogo is a crowdfunding site that helps creatives, entrepreneurs, artists, and NGOs to raise funds for projects.

Unlike at Kickstarter, where you can only choose one fundraising option – the all or nothing package – at Indiegogo, you can chose between the fixed funding package (which is the same as Kickstarter’s all nor nothing), or the flexible funding package, which allows you keep the funds raised, even if it falls short of the target for the execution of your project.

Also, there is a package – Indiegogo in demand – which allows you to continue raising funds even after your campaign ends.

What’s more, Indiegogo in demand is available to you whether you run your fundraising campaign on Indiegogo or any other platform.

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An indigenous crowdfunding site, Naijafund allows entrepreneurs, creatives, and NGOs to raise funds for whatever business venture or project they desire to embark on.

On Naijafund, operators can link their accounts to social media accounts, and ask for funds from friends, relatives, classmates, etcetera. However, on Naijafund, there is a 10% charge on funds donated.

4. Patreon

Created with a focus on the new wave of creatives – Bloggers, YouTubers, Musicians, Cartoonists, etcetera – with a loyal audience, and the aim to generate revenue through paid membership, Patreon stands out amongst other fundraising platforms.

On Patreon, creatives can build a dedicated and loyal fanbase, and showcase their creative content, which is opened to the viewing of their fanbase based on the various membership teirs which include exclusive content, branded swag, sneak peeks, shoutouts, and lots more.

You can choose to allow your fanbase pay “per month” for special community perks or pay “per creation” to motivate you to create more.

5. Micro venture

An equity crowdfunding platform, and a part of the capital market, Microventure allows donations from both qualified and non-qualified investors.

Here, the investors fund the business venture/project, and in return, own a small portion of the venture/project. Because it is equity-based, financial regulations apply to the micro venture. When the company’s worth goes up, so do the value its shares.

6. GoFundMe

GoFundMe is a crowdfunding platform built specifically for raising funds to support individual causes. It was established for individual fundraising purposes, and not for commercial causes, like business ventures/projects.

Because of this, backers on this platform tend to support projects that come from within their community networks, and those they’re more familiar with.

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7. CrowdCube

Based in the United Kingdom, Crowdcube is an equity-based crowdfunding platform with a relatively small number of campaigns.

However, companies that are approved, and have succeeded with their fundraising goals, are eligible to join  Crowdcube’s “Funded club,” where they’ll gain exclusive benefits from partner organizations. They charge 7% of the funds raised on the platform.

8. FundAnEnterprise

Another indigenous crowdfunding platform in Nigeria, fundanenterprise was built specifically to help raise funds to support the startup of small and medium scale business ventures in Nigeria.

It involves fundraising activities in the form of endowments to help entrepreneurs and prospective business owners to raise the funds to start up their small or medium scale enterprise.

9. Donate-Ng

Said to be one of the pioneers of online crowdfunding in Nigeria, and the platform behind #SaveNneka campaign – raising over 7 million Naira – as well as Kingsley Moghalu’s presidential campaign, and President Buhari’ reelection campaign support, Donate-ng is a crowd raising platform established to raise funds to support both personal and commercial projects.

When funding personal projects, there is usually a check to ensure the funds are used for what they’re meant for. As such, a supervisor is assigned to guard the usage of the funds.

However, this does not apply for commercial projects by verified and registered business ventures. There is also a transaction fee charged for using Donate-ng, although, this is charged from the donation by donors.

10. Imeela

Another crowdfunding platform based in Nigeria, Imeela is similar to donate-ng, because a donation charge is deducted from the amount backers/investors donate for any project or venture on this platform.

With Imeela, you can raise funds for both personal and commercial projects, and the donations are 100% yours. The platform, however, has 5 requirements for campaigns on its website. They are;

Project: The venture that needs to be funded.

Funding Goal: The target amount for the establishment of the venture.

Owner: A brief profile on the individual or company establishing the venture.

Contributors: Those donating to your project or venture.

Rewards: The benefit donors receive after funding your project. This is optional.

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Conclusion

Crowdfunding remains a great way to fund any project, personal or otherwise. With any of these fundraising platforms, you can raise funds for that business venture, personal project, or NGO community-oriented activity. We hope this article has been helpful. Let us know.

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