what is crowdfunding 
crowdfunding involves raising small amounts of money from a large number of individuals to finance a new business venture it leverages the wide reach of social media and crowdfunding websites to connect investors and entrepreneurs potentially increasing entrepreneurship by expanding the pool of investors beyond the traditional circle of owners relatives and venture capitalists the 2008 financial crisis led to the rise of crowdfunding as banks enforced stricter lending policies post recession small businesses struggled to secure credit prompting many to seek alternative funding methods in 2023 the global crowdfunding market volume was estimated at 1 17 billion showing a slight increase from previous years according to statista the transaction value of the global crowdfunding sector is expected to grow by 1 48 annually from 2024 to 2028 reaching a market volume of 1 27 billion by 2028 1