Empirical comparisons of the access to and benefits of crowdfunding and microfinance in developing countries relative to the status of Cyprus.

Abstract

This work considers two concepts, crowdfunding and microfinance, whose prominence and exposure are growing in financial circles over the last decade, gaining momentum and becoming increasingly pursued by businesses and entrepreneurs. After introducing and defining the main themes and terms associated and utilized in the study, the focus shifts onto the literary reflections extracted from the resources reviewed. The consensus overall suggests that certain industries are better suited for crowd-funding due to the acquirement of long-term interested customers/investors. Microfinance is associated primarily with lower income areas and businesses, but a distinction is made between pay-day loans and microfinance. Original data was collected from respondents in four different countries, chosen for their proximity and size. Questionnaires were sent out, requesting data of a quantitative nature in order to draw up new conclusions and theory on the subject matter. Overall it was found that Cyprus and Malta had very similar results, with Maltese responses having the highest tendency towards pursuing and having successful experiences with crowdfunding and microfinance. Azerbaijan on the other hand showed a very limited exposure to either method, indicating more traditional approaches being used, whilst Luxemburg showed gradual progress towards both. The research was successful since the underlying research objective was supported by the data and literature collected in response to the research questions. Further work urged for a more structured approach to be used across research studies of the same field.