Ground Swell of Investors @Idea Auction

An idea auction that's what it is.The "it" in question is the crowd funding phenomenon. Crowd funding is a legacy of Web 2.0, a product of the age of social media. Put simply, any one with an idea, pitches it to the world wide online community, in the form of a video, then depending on how persuasive the pitch is and how many people see it via email, facebook, twitter... people will contribute money via credit card to see this idea through to fruition.

The Zuka campaign is ongoing, feel free to check it out and  share the link with a friend or two , to think this fundraising platform has been around since 2008.The small entrepreneur with internet access can now attract investment from around the world. Almost like floating one's enterprise on the stock exchange except your funders are not strictly speaking investors because they don't have a controlling interest in your enterprise but rather wish you well. Ideally they do not expect a monetary return on their contribution.

Here are some choice posts to help you navigate your way to start up money for that new project of yours.

On how to design your pitch consider this 
 On getting funders to contribute to your campaign consider this
On What to do when its all over

contd.

MADE : The Case Studies

ZUKA has eyes for the internet and in particular initiatives such as Women Make Movies this non profit is for all intents and purposes that is making and distributing films by women, a cooperative and its been around since the 1970s. This collective is nothing short of inspiring in the way they go about their business, how they organize themselves, individuals from diverse backgrounds and different generations.Yet they  still put out award winning films largely independently. Happy 40th bday.

African Writers Series is another initiative that is worth celebrating, going through its anthology, at of all places the public library on Buganda Rd., offered insight into this institution that brought to life so many memorable characters from all walks of African life. Its success appears to be result of drawing on the talents of a number of young writers with independence on the mind, owing perhaps to the post colonial era, from different parts of Africa brought together by a love of  the written word by a lover of the medium

 These two initiatives and another one closer to home, the Kakuto SACCO,are instructive I find. Cooperatives and Savings association are nothing new and because they champion collective action based on individual responsibility, they are a means to grass root development and hence the fuss about them.

This post is about social entrepreneurship and some successful stories worth a read.
In that vein, step forward.Shahidul Alam fed up with the portrayal of his country in the Western media, he decided to start Pathshala.

Femi Kuti wonders will we ever unite  which leads one to ask what will this look like?
The Ndere group bears the DNA of what collective purpose might look like and how it would work or perhaps  Kibera Youth Reform, doing organic farming in the slums.