On the Keys to Unlocking Crowdfunding Awareness and Adoption in Africa

Crowdfunding offers opportunities for overcoming limitations in accessing entrepreneurial finance. Nevertheless, its uptake remains slow and lagging in Africa. To deliver on the promises of more democratic financing, crowdfunding relies on widespread adoption by prospective backers to unleash the 'power of the crowd.' Earlier research has focused on crowdfunding user behavior and campaign success, but it has largely ignored crowdfunding awareness as a fundamental precondition for crowdfunding engagement. The current study suggests and tests a model capturing key determinants of crowdfunding awareness, which, in turn, shape prospective backers' attitudes and contribution intentions. This model is tested using SEM procedures on a sample of prospective backers from four African countries: Ghana, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Morocco. We present several consistent findings across all four-study contexts. First, in terms of determinants, crowdfunding awareness is positively and significantly associated with economic education, familiarity with fundraisers, and perceived levels of social trust. Second, in terms of consequences, interest, and attitudes are significantly and positively associated with crowdfunding awareness. Third, the effects of crowdfunding awareness on intentions are fully mediated by both attitudes and interests.