Crowdfunding is an innovation in entrepreneurial finance that can fuel “the Rise of the Rest” globally
What would the world look like if there were Silicon Valleys everywhere? While I am happy for innovative entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley, I am passionately focused on helping to create “the Rise of the Rest” so that entrepreneurs globally can build successful businesses. This initiative is to create focus and action in cities and towns of all sizes, to form entrepreneurial ecosystems that can ignite innovation, create jobs and grow economies.
In the past, because of the high cost of technology development, lack of mobile/web infrastructure and restrictive financial regulations, entrepreneurs had to travel to places like San Francisco or Boston to find the technologies and investors to build their companies. For most, this was cost prohibitive and logistically impossible.
Entrepreneurs had a more challenging time executing their plans and potential investors were scarce.
Today, technology development costs are plummeting and tools are available to build software more rapidly and cheaply than ever before:
- One third of the world’s population has access to the Internet and, according to the United Nations, approximately 85 percent have access to a mobile phone.
- Based on the adoption curve of feature phones in Africa, it is possible that 40 percent of people living in Africa will have access to a smartphone within five years.
- Innovative new broadband solutions are becoming available and smartphone penetration is growing as costs decline and demand increases.
- With an increase in connectivity, new and larger markets for goods and services are now available and we need talented entrepreneurs to create innovative solutions to customer needs, to create jobs, and drive economic and social stability.
