The idea of crowdfunding is nothing new to Nigerians, as they’ve been able to raise funds in the past with sites like Indiegogo and GoFundMe. But still, a few Nigerians who are willing to help are not able to raise funds because they have no access to the internet.
Donate-ng was launched to cater for the Nigerian market, and also enable everyone to take part in the crowdfunding process.
The crowdfunding portal was launched in January 2016 by Olakunle Olayinka to enable people with causes and projects within Nigeria to raise funds for social causes. It has also changed the playing field for crowdfunding in Africa with the introduction of a USSD service, as some Nigerians still find it difficult to use their debit/credit cards to make payments online let alone donate to a cause.
According to Olakunle Olayinka, the mission of Donate-ng is not restricted to easing the burden of raising funds, but also providing excellent technology, advice and support, and also empowering people without internet connection or debit cards to donate to charitable causes by simply using their phone.
Within a year of launch, the startup has successfully raised over ₦7 million towards various causes and charities. Olakunle ties the relative success to the combined effort of his zealous team and top-notch security technology adopted on the platform,