NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Friday, June 19, 2015

Budding South African film producer Meg Rickards was struggling to raise the money for her new feature film, Whiplash, when she came across the idea of crowdfunding.

“We had about 70% of the budget and were battling to raise the rest,” she remembers.

Meg decided to try local South African crowdfunding site Thundafund, and launched a campaign to raise the rest of the cash for her feature film project. Three months later, she had raised 106,800 rand (£5460; $8665).

“The crowdfunding indeed gave us vital cash flow during the development phase, and also helped to build an engaged fan base,” she says.

Crowdfunding innovation

Launched in 2013, Thundafund co-founder and chief executive Patrick Schofield says the platform was created with the intention of driving innovation and entrepreneurship in Africa, by encouraging the public to back individuals with great ideas.

“Crowdfunding has been a phenomenal driving force of creative development in the US and Europe, we believe that it can become an equally powerful force in Africa,” he says.

“Hence, Thundafund was launched to be lead and be part of that wave of positive development and change that crowdfunding will bring.”