Maltese crowdfunding as an alternative financing method

Abstract

Since its origination, crowdfunding has always attracted the attention of many important players such as lenders, borrowers, regulators and banks within the economy. This dissertation entitled ‘‘Maltese Crowdfunding as an Alternative Financing Method’’ aims at understanding the Maltese perspective on the behaviour of crowdfunding. Whilst looking at the available studies, mostly from foreign scenarios, this dissertation will attempt to corroborate existing practices locally and explore the current situation in Malta. This research will therefore give due importance to analysing the perspective of the funder’s and the creator’s side of crowdfunding and to what motivates and discourages such players. It is evident that Malta lags behind when it comes to the practice of crowdfunding and still has a long way to go when compared to foreign economies. It is therefore of utmost importance to further increase the knowledge on this subject so as to enhance growth in the economy. Interviews with a local crowdfunding platform and various institutions have helped me figure out what are the drivers that encourage crowdfunding, and the limitations and fears that funders and creators experience when compared to alternative methods. Hence, one is in a better position to understand the reasons behind these phenomena. To get an insight of where the general public stands in terms of crowdfunding, surveys were randomly distributed. From the feedback it was clearly noted that most of the people lack sufficient knowledge on the subject and are rather apprehensive about such new entrants in Malta. Addressing the issue of awareness and education would lead to crowdfunding becoming more popular in Malta.