In mid-July, Belgrade-based
Mikser started a funding campaign in order to collect the money needed to complete the reconstruction of the abandoned factory in Sarajevo in which the new
Mikser House will open on September 8. Most of the amount needed has already been collected, and Mikser has initiated an international crowdfunding campaign at the Indiegogo site in order to collect the remaining EUR 75,000.
As Maja Lalic, Mikser's creative director, says for eKapija, they were inspired to initiate the crowdfunding campaign by Mikser's audience, as well as numerous individuals and organizations that “selflessly offered their help and support” during the five years of Mikser House's activities in Belgrade.
– We looked into similar initiatives and concluded that, given the lack of cultural policies and systemic support to independent projects in culture and creative entrepreneurship, crowdsourcing was the future of the independent scene and might become a basis for a society marked by greater solidarity, but also greater independence from the state – she adds.
The analysis of crowdfunding recently presented by the company Brodoto points to a similar conclusion. Among other things, it says that “although crowdfunding currently plays a role complementary to traditional sources of finance, in the future, it might jeopardize them in the way social media have jeopardized traditional ones”.
What is crowdfunding exactly?
The phrase stands for group financing where a larger number of individuals are asked for monetary support for a project. In turn, unless the money is given as a donation, the supporters (backers) are given an ownership stake in the project, an award for their support (often the very product they are “co-financing”), or a simple repayment. At the same time, they take upon themselves the risk that the product or the service will not be delivered.
The World Bank estimated in 2015 that the crowdfunding market would be worth USD 96 billion by 2020, exceeding the funds invested by angel investors and venture capital. In the USA, for example, more than a fifth of the citizens have already taken part in the crowdfunding campaigns, whereas 3% have also initiated their own projects.
The circumstances in Serbia are very unlike those from across the pond. So far, Brodoto analysts say, only 570 campaigns have been initiated in Serbia, with around USD 650,000 being paid, whereas the percentage of those who supported a campaign in 2016 was the negligible 0.03% of the population.
It is also worth noting that a third of the projects are from the field of arts, and that the film industry has been the most successful. The completion of the film about Vlada Divljan was financed this way, for example, with the majority of the payments being in the form of donations.
Battle for innovative businesses lost?When it comes to business, this way of collecting funds is nearly non-existent in Serbia. Dusan Uzelac, editor of the Kamatica portal and the director of the company
Dubes, explains for eKapija why this is the case. He says that the Serbian laws and regulations practically do not recognize this type of funding.