Abstract

This paper is one of the first attempts to address the fundamental barriers to the adoption of online crowdfunding mechanisms in a developing country by offering a new online/offline fundraising model. The focus is on Nigeria as a typical example of an environment that, unlike that in the developed world, is not fully conducive to social networking as a crowdfunding platform due to both economic and technological issues. Using a mixed research method, the study first compares the state of the art in crowdfunding in a developed and developing economy by interviewing two groups of 20 entrepreneurs from the UK and Nigeria, respectively. The differences between those in terms of crowdfunding facilitation are identified, and propositions for the Nigerian market are formulated. These are then tested statistically by surveying 160 randomly selected Nigerian fundraisers. Based on the outcomes of the thematic analysis and statistical modelling, a unique integrated online/offline crowdfunding model is proposed. It is particularly aimed at supporting entrepreneurial activities and related policymaking that can have a key impact on further social and economic development of these countries. The proposed model can be considered as an alternative novel fundraising instrument in regions where socioeconomic and technological challenges inhibit the adoption of traditional crowdfunding approaches.

Keywords: SMEs; crowdfunding; social media; entrepreneurship; fundraisers; developing countries.