Crowd Power: Can the Crowd close the Financing Gap?

Explores the experiences of businesses and non-profits providing products and services to communities

From:: Department for International Development
Published: 1 July 2017

Document Type:: Research Paper
Theme:: Climate and Environment and Research Communication and Uptake
Authors:: Cogan, D and Collings, S

Abstract

This report examines the role of crowdfunding in closing the financing gap experienced by businesses and non-profits providing products and services to off-grid communities.

The report begins with an update on market data and key trends across the energy access related crowdfunding space. The bulk of the report examines how donation, reward, debt, and equity campaigns are used by social enterprises and non-profits. It analyses key trends across the 4 different campaign types, considers the impact of various campaigns, and explores the role of crowdfunding in the context of organisational and sector-wide financing needs.

This paper was supported by the UK Department for International Development’s Crowd Power programme and is the second in a series on energy access related crowdfunding in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia.

Citation

D. Cogan and S.Collings, ‘Crowd Power - Can the Crowd Close the Financing Gap?’, Energy 4 Impact, July 2017.