World Bank Group2016-03-022016-03-022015https://hdl.handle.net/10986/23820The purpose of this paper is to capture lessons learned from East African entrepreneurs who were some of crowdfunding’s first adopters. Their experiences can serve as a practical guide for entrepreneurs looking to more effectively utilize crowdfunding across all emerging markets. In order to gather this data, the World Bank conducted interviews with a number of East African technology entrepreneurs who ran crowdfunding campaigns, both successfully and unsuccessfully. The following paper offers six key lessons for entrepreneurs in Africa and other emerging markets as they consider when, why and how to launch a crowdfunding campaign: crowdfunding is much more difficult than most entrepreneurs anticipate and is not for everyone. Opportunity costs abound; business needs should dictate platform choice; payment systems impact platform choice; quality and quantity of contributor networks are key; entrepreneurs should tap into complementary resources and organizations to increase their likelihood of success; and crowdfunding can have non-monetary benefits.en-USCC BY 3.0 IGOMARKETING STRATEGIESNEW MARKETEMPLOYMENTBUSINESS INCUBATORSPARTYPROTOTYPEBUSINESS COMMUNITYINTERNATIONAL CAPITALSELF-HELPMATERIALSSYSTEM REQUIREMENTSE-COMMERCEMICROFINANCE SECTORPARTNERINDUSTRYVIDEOREGULATORY ENVIRONMENTSEXCHANGESTRATEGIESPAYMENT SYSTEMCONSUMER GOODSINFORMATIONENTREPRENEURSDEVELOPING COUNTRIESBANK ACCOUNTEQUITY FINANCINGCOMPANIESLOANBUSINESS MODELSPROJECTSSPONSORSCREDIT CARDSEED MONEYINSTRUMENTSCREDIBILITYBUDGETCONVERSIONCOMMUNICATIONSINSTITUTIONSDATATECHNICAL ASSISTANCECOMMERCEBUSINESS INCUBATORLICENSETARGETSBUSINESS NEEDSTRAINING MATERIALSEMERGING MARKETDEBTBUYERSMARKETINGMARKETSFIRMRETURNINTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENTLEGISLATIONBUSINESS INFORMATIONVENTURE CAPITALENTERPRISESDEBIT CARDSFINANCEGRANTSADMINISTRATIVE COSTSINFRASTRUCTURETRANSACTIONSUSERSTECHNOLOGYEMERGING MARKETSEQUITYGRANTINVESTORSOPPORTUNITY COSTFIRMSGOODONLINE NETWORKSBUSINESS OPERATIONSCAPITALTRANSPARENCYBEST PRACTICESRESULTSACCESS TO CAPITALPARTIESFUTUREBANKCREDITNETWORKSFINANCIAL INSTRUMENTCONTRACTSOCIAL NETWORKSEMAILSPRIVATE SECTOROPPORTUNITY COSTSONLINE TRANSACTIONSMARKETCOMPANYSECURITIESPROFITABILITYRESULTMICROFINANCEEXPANSIONBANK LOANGOODSINVESTORPEER-TO-PEERBUSINESSBUSINESSESINVESTMENTNETWORKPHONESIDHUMAN RESOURCESSHAREPARTNERSPERFORMANCEDONORSBANK CUSTOMERSPRIVATE INVESTORSINNOVATIONSITESMOBILE PHONESPROFITLENDINGTECHNICAL SUPPORTCHECKINSTRUMENTCUSTOMERSPHOTOENTREPRENEURSHIPENTREPRENEURPAYMENT SYSTEMSGOVERNMENTSINFORMATION GAPSEEGROWTH POTENTIALTARGETFINANCING SOURCESGUARANTEEUSESBANK EXPOSURECASH FLOWPLUG-INWorking PaperWorld Bank10.1596/23820