Kiva's Flamingo Group
So, a lot of different forms of crowdfunding sites have been appearing all over the board recently. Some sites, such as Kiva.org, do microfunding for developing countries, while others such as Kickstarter.com bring crowds together in financing art, film, inventions and all sorts of projects. People interested in supporting a project may receive a certificate, print, tickets, or other related rewards for their cash.
But can this keep going in terms of barter trade? Increasingly, the crowds participating in this venture capital model may want both to monetize these issuances and investors will demand their invested equity come back in cash flows rather than signed photographs.
But this is a cloud far from SEC regulation. What kind of legal framework would be needed to ensure that these trade systems are both efficient sources of funding and profitable and (risk-adjusted) safe investments? New equity and debt issuance instruments may need be developed.
And, what does this mean for new start-ups? Well, that at the same time that any kind of job can be outsourced, funding options for projects are opening up from all over.
2 comments:
There's a recent microfinance fund raising website called Wokai.org. It had successful publicity and many young people rushed to help this organisation. I think I had the same queries in my mind of how these funds are regulated and how to make sure these are properly used.
What also amazing about Wokai.org is its on-time repayment rate, at 98%. However, one thing to note is that since it's a non-profit, once they repay your loan (or should I say, "donation"), you won't actually get money back, although you'll have a say as to whom the organization lends that money next.
Kiva.org, on the other hand, does give lenders the option to withdraw repaid funds into a PayPal account.
In any case, what's interesting is how such tools are creating new markets for those looking to be funded in these countries and investors all around the globe, and are replicable models for other industries as well.
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