The Past, Present and Future of Crowdfunding in India

Posted On: 1672997411

The wealth of a person becomes meaningless if it is not distributed and utilised. 

– RIG VEDA

Almost everyone has experienced the joy of giving at some stage or another. Giving money, giving help in other ways or giving of themselves to a person in need, listening to him or her, or helping them with their problems. The word Philanthropy means the practice of giving money and time to help make life better for other people has Greek origins. It springs from the word fil-anthra-pi–the love of ‘fellowmen’. Surprisingly, wealth did not correlate with the initial definition of the word, but over some time, people began to realise that when love, empathy, kindness and humanity prevail, wealth assumes a nobler purpose.   

Some countries have the concept of philanthropy embedded in them like India, where it is evident in the rich diversity. It is ever-present in every religion practised here. The Hindus have a principle of dann, which constitutes the feeding of the priests, charity to orphans, etc. In Muslims, zakat–giving a portion of one’s income to charity is widely practised throughout the social spectrum. On a similar note, Christians have the concept of the tithe–giving away one-tenth of what one earns to charity. The Sikhs have a tradition of a direct service by one’s own hands for a charitable cause. The langar in every Gurdwara is an excellent example of such service. 

Philanthropy has evolved a lot over the ages, especially during the latter half of the nineteenth century. The latter half of the nineteenth century saw the rise of philanthropic trusts, foundations set up mainly by business tycoons like Andrew Carnegie, Jamsetji Tata, etc. These trusts and foundations provided the right conduit for the effective social spending of the vast wealth generated by modern industries. Such trusts and foundations mainly focused on tackling major challenges that less well-endowed institutions would not even be able to attempt.  

Healthcare financing for patients has always been a challenge in a developing nation like India. Crowdfunding is a novel but long-lasting solution to this challenge. Whereas crowdfunding is still seen as a developed-world phenomenon, its potential to create new jobs and stimulate innovation in the developing world has not gone unnoticed.  Crowdfunding, while still in its nascent stage, has grown by leaps and bounds in the past decade. It is popularly predicted that the total transaction value of crowdfunding is projected to reach $90.4m by 2025 in India. While equity crowdfunding is still banned in India, other forms of crowdfunding like donation-based, reward-based, debt-based and peer-to-peer-based are gaining steady steam. Crowdfunding backed by digital marketing can bring wonderful results. It has emerged as a great tool to fund social causes.  

The future of philanthropy lies in crowdfunding. India with its wide population and robust economy is the perfect market for crowdfunding startups. With the current introduction of cryptocurrency into India’s economy, crowdfunding will be seeing another boost in popularity. 

Crowdfunding is one of the best avenues to build a long-lasting sustainable healthcare financing health system for patients.          

Author: Saish Bhise