My Thoughts On Crowdfunding And Online Trust__#240:3

When I first heard about crowdfunding, I thought it was only for rich countries...(you know)I thought it was somethingg you see in American moovies where someonee starts a GoFundMe and raisees $100,000. But now it is here with us in Nigeria too. We see it on Instagram, on Twitter, on WhatsApp.... Someone needs help and they drop an account number or a link.

I think crowdfunding is a powerful way to source funds online. It has helped many people. I remember during COVID, many small businesses raised money online to stay alive. Some students in my university used crowdfunding to pay for their final year project. Even Hive projects sometimes use crowdfunding to build something. So it is not a bad idea at all.

But there is a big question: can we trust it?

In my opinion, trusting online donor platforms is hard these days because of fraud. It is too easy to lie online. Anyone can take someone else's picture, write a sad story, and say "please donate". People with good hearts will donate, and the person will run away with the money. This has happened many times. That is why when some people see a donation link now, they will scroll and ignore it, even if the case is real. The scammers have spoiled it for the honest people.

For me, I have not started a crowdfunding campaign before. I have never asked people for money online. But I have been a donor once. My coursemate's brother had an accident and needed blood and money for surgery. We all contributed online. That one was real and I saw the boy in the hospital myself. So I trusted it. But I cannot say I will trust every link I see on the internet. I always check well before I donate.

So how can these platforms be more transparent? I have some ideas.

One, they should do KYC - Know Your Customer. Before you can create a campaign, you must upload your valid ID and a video explaining your problem. That way fake people will be reduced.

Two, they should add a comment and update section where the campaign owner must show proof of how money was spent. For example, if you raised money for school fees, show the school receipt. If for hospital, show hospital receipt. No updates, no more donations.

Three, platforms should partner with banks or mobile money services to hold the money. The money should not go straight to the owner. The platform should hold it and release it in stages after verifying.

Four, there should be a report button that works. If peopple susppect fraud, they can report and the platformm will quicklly freeze the account and investigaate.

Five, they should show verified badges for real campaigns, just like Twitter verification.

If platforms do all these things, people will trust them more and more people will be willing to donate. Crowdfunding will then become safer for everyone.

In conclusion, I love the idea of crowdfunding. It shows that humanity still exists. But we must be wise and platforms must be transparent.

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IMAGE SOURCE AI**