Alternative Financing for Micro-Level Entrepreneur in Sub-Sahara Africa: A Crowd Funding Option

Abstract

An inherent problem that entrepreneurs face at the early stage of their entrepreneurial initiative is to source capital. Given the difficulties in raising the needed funds to actualize their ideas through traditional fund lenders such as banks, this paper provided a background on crowd funding as an alternative financing source for micro-entrepreneurship in Sub-Sahara Africa. Literature was reviewed on micro-level enterprises and micro-entrepreneur, describing the concept of crowd funding and models. This paper adopted the equity-based crowd funding model for Sub-Sahara African micro-entrepreneurs because of its potential benefits over other models. It recommended amongst others that development workers, policymakers and aid organizations need to make considerable efforts to bridge the knowledge gap of micro-entrepreneurs in the subcontinent on crowd funding by creating in-depth awareness considering the 0.1% Africa involvement in global crowd funding activity.