Crowdfunding Initiative for Developing World Entrepreneurs

The ability of crowdfunding to help fund commercial and charitable projects is benefiting many organisations and individuals throughout the UK, US as well as Europe and Asia. Now entrepreneurs in the developing world looking to trade their way out of poverty have been tapping  into the power of crowdfunding thanks to Lendwithcare.org, a UK based microfinance initiative. Along with the introduction of a new group lending feature, Lendwithcare is looking to revolutionise the face of digital charitable philanthropy and donations in the UK.

Lendwithcare.org is the first microfinance platform to be launched by a development agency, one of the leading aid agencies CARE international. With support from the Co-operative as part of its Global Poverty Project programme, the platform has attracted 5000 active lenders supporting projects mainly in food production, farming, clothing, retail and even photography in countries such as Benin, Togo, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Cambodia, the Philippines and more recently Ecuador. Lendwithcare operates like any other crowdfunding or microfinance initiative, with visitors to the site searching from the lists of projects in need of funding and selecting one they would like to support. Once a project is chosen the investor can loan from as little as £15 or up to the full specified limit. 

"I believe in helping others to help themselves. A small amount to me makes a huge difference to someone else. Better still, the money you invest, once returned can be recycled into new funding for other projects" - Nicol Caplin, Lender

Lenders can track the progress of the entrepreneurs they have supported to see how their money is helping the fledgling enterprise. The loan is then repaid in accordance with an agreed schedule, and credited to the lenders' account who can then do any one of the following; withdraw the money, donate it to support the efforts of CARE international, or support another enterprise. Thousands of loans have been made to entrepreneurs through the platform helping people like Yeurn Ouerm. Rice grower and mother of five Yeurn lost her paddy fields in the devastating floods that hit Cambodia last year. Lendwithcare highlighted her plight through Facebook and Twitter and within a few minutes nearly £200 was loaned helping her purchase fresh seeds to replenish and sustain her crops through the year.

Already Lendwithcare helps individuals make a difference to the lives of those in need. Now the initiative has launched a "group lending feature" enabling lenders to team up and invest in projects as a group. The loans can be attributed to the group collective helping to make an even bigger impact. Groups currently supporting developing world entrepreneurs include co-operatives, retailers,  families, churches and even whole countries. Since launching eighteen months ago Lendwithcare.org has raised £700,000 in loan capital and is hoping to leverage £1.5 million of loans by the end of the year. 

Clickworker Announces Significant Steps in Growth and Expansion

One of the leading providers of paid crowdsourcing, Clickworker has announced changes to its management team that looks set to help the company expand as a market leader. Clickworker has also reached a significant milestone in the growth of its community of registered users potentially increasing the speed and quality of paid crowdsourcing services.

Clickworker has appointed Marc Ahr as the new company's Managing Director, effective from the beginning of April. Marc will be working with Christian Rozsenic, and together are responsible for pooling and utilising their expertise in sales, marketing and technology to accelerate the company's growth. Marc will bring his experience as Mobile Messaging Director for Berlin based  technology and media development leader YOC AG to the team, specifically in the areas of sales and product management. 

"The paid crowdsourcing approach fits in the globalised and networked working environment. The clickworkers are neither location nor time-bound, and can schedule work and free time according to their individual needs. For companies the use of crowdsourcing means overcoming the limitations of schedules, space or personnel. I am delighted to be part of a company whose business model not only focuses on the here and now, but is future-oriented instead." Marc Ahr, Managing Director, Clickworker

 In addition to expanding the company's management team, Clickworker has seen its community of registered users rise to 200,000 worldwide. The so-called clickworkers carry out micro-jobs for customers in wide variety of sectors including tagging, categorization, translation and web research. One of the benefits of crowdsourcing projects is the size and skill set of the knowledgeable and able crowd, high volumes of work can be carried out quickly. With a continually increasing community of micro-workers, Clickworker can process large orders speedily, virtually in real time, with high quality results. 

Image Credits; Daily Sunny

How to Use Facebook for Your Crowdfunding Project

In the world of Web 2.0, crowdsourcing and social media make the best bedfellows as one benefits from collaboration and the other enables it through a limitless potential of vast networks. Crowdfunding especially, depends on social media to make connections and attract potential donors. Creating a Facebook page to promote a crowdfunding project is a positive step to securing those much sought after funds, but it is important to know how to use Facebook effectively. 

Creating a page and hoping enough people from Facebooks 1 billion registered users find their way to it is not the way to start out. Ben Hamilton of the UK crowdfunding platform PleaseFundUs offers five (and a bit) pointers on how to maximise Facebook for your crowdfunding project.

Last summer witnessed Facebook reach over a billion registered users and it’s a tool that should not be ignored when it comes to crowdfunding your idea. Click here to read more.

Acknowledgements; Thanks to Ben Hamilton
Image Credits; Javier Reyes Gomez