Drofund is the newest crowdfunding platform launched in Kenya. However, this platform is not your typical crowdfunding platform, as they only use cryptocurrency Bitcoin to support startups and small businesses pitching for support on the platform.
Drofund wants to help startups get access to the global economy investors who leverage on the cryptos. The platform officially went live last month and chose to crowdfund using cryptos because the currency transcends borders and jurisdiction. Thereby opening the doors for African startups to get funds from far and wide.
“We saw a huge funding gap in Africa, and as co-founders, we have previously experienced the pain of raising capital on the continent,” said Mathenge Kanyoro, a co-founder of Drofund in an interview with Disrupt Africa.
“Accessing capital is one of the biggest challenges facing African entrepreneurs, and we believe Drofund presents a solution to this.”
Drofund has the ambitious plan of not just sticking to playing within the Kenyan or African space, it wants to go global and head-to-head in competition with the big wigs like Kickstarter and Indiegogo.
“Closer to home, our African competitor is Thundafund. What sets Drofund apart from the other crowdfunding platforms is the fact that we are using Bitcoin, the digital peer-to-peer currency, as the fundraising currency.
What this means is that African entrepreneurs will now be able to tap into global capital thanks to bitcoin’s ubiquitous nature.”
Drofund will charge a 5% commission on all funds raised on its platform. The startup is also self-funded and has begun running its own crowdfunding campaign on its own platform, eyeing to nest investors from the Kenyan market. It runs from Nairobi but has plans to open up pilot offices across major cities in Africa in the future.