Crowdfunding For Africa Coffee Industry

Mobile banking, investing and crypto currency transaction using smartphones are examples of financial technologies (FinTech) that are aiming to make financial services more accessible to the general public. Funding for startups or projects is available in various forms of capital. Crowdfunding is a new application of FinTech business models that offers an end-to-end process through the internet technology to raise funding. As the coffee sectors continuously develop in Africa, crowdfunding has to be an alternative tool of financing for coffee industry while utilizing the expansion of mobile technology, the rise of a middle class, and the active contribution of the African diaspora. A large number of crowdfunding platforms outside Africa also look for new investment opportunities from Africa markets. Without a doubt, it is crucial to select the best crowdfunding platforms that can lead to successful funding. We strongly suggest that African coffee entrepreneurs start with donation-based crowdfunding that can draw much African diaspora’s investment and then transfer to reward-based platforms both in and out of Africa. Coffee presales are expected to be high in value because African coffee farmers with poor income levels are not burdened with providing additional compensation to investors, along with the advantages of resolving the mismatch of the short funding period over a long period of one to three years.