Assessing the Impact of Crowdfunded Microfinance on Entrepreneurs in Developing Countries

Olajide Famuwagun
2020 unpublished
Developing countries are characterised by low per capita income, poor infrastructure, poor governance, low capital formation, and low GDP per capita; as a result the people living there engage in micro-enterprises through which they meet their needs and the needs of their families and in the process create jobs within their communities (not in all cases). And although they kickstart these businesses using their own equity, majority of the funds for the continuation and expansion of their
more » ... ses come from microfinance institutions (MFIs) domiciled in their countries. Moreover, these MFIs also rely on partner institutions abroad who in turn rely on donations obtained from their crowdfunding platforms. Considering the amount of amount that has changed hands ($26.7 million at at 2018), it is quite normal for the crowdfunders to begin to demand for evidences of the impact these monies make in the lives of the entrepreneurs they are funding, which is the reason for this research. Consequently, to satisfy the yearnings of investors, 12,000 of these entrepreneurs would be studied for two (2) years simultaneously across the twelve (12) countries the partner MFIs are located in. Also, a pilot study using 20 Loan Accessing and 20 Non-Loan Accessing Clients would be done to ensure the reliability and stability of the research instruments across all the twelve (12) countries. Randomised selection methods would be used during the research to ensure both internal and external validity during the research. It is therefore expected that this research will lead to the obtaining of evidences which will not only satisfy the yearnings of the crowdfunders, but also provide evidences for better decision making by policy makers as well as spur further research by other researchers in the field.
doi:10.13140/rg.2.2.19723.03362 fatcat:ravetkh37rhsdl4ron2ilkseci