Crowdfunding in the GCC – A New and Faster Source of Funding

Executive Summary

1. What is this report about?
Crowdfunding platforms today render it possible for individuals and firms, of any size, to harness social networks for raising start-up capital for projects, which may otherwise fail due to funding deficits. Such an alternative financing mode has widely penetrated in the GCC region in both conventional and Shariah Compliant markets. UAE and Bahrain became the first two countries in the GCC for announcing formal legislation for crowdfunding sector in the region. The regulation is expected to help the crowdfunding sector become formal by setting out operational guidelines and standard procedures. This is expected to give a big push to the crowd funding mode of finance in the wider MENA region. The report provides a detailed analysis of Crowdfunding market globally and regionally (GCC).

2. Who will benefit and why?
The report will benefit a wide range of players in the crowdfunding market; investors, operators of crowd funding platforms, investees, regulators and government agencies. This report would help these entities to gain in-depth understanding about the crowdfunding platform.

3. How exhaustive is this report?
We have provided an in depth analyses of the current status of the global crowdfunding market, the preferred sectors for funders and the different modes. We have discussed the economics of crowdfunding platforms in lines of its response to incentives, disincentives and transaction costs. Analysis is done on the market structure of the GCC on how growing entrepreneurship, startups would soon require new financing cycle and crowdfunding might act as a new financier, emphasis is also laid on the FinTech potential in the region. Finally, policy recommendations on framing potential crowdfunding regulations in the GCC countries have been specified.