( CNN ) -- Things are looking up for entrepreneurs in the Middle East as a new breed of crowdfunding is emerging to help bring life to innovative ideas from the region . Based on popular U.S. sites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo they aim to connect everyone , from engineers in Egypt to creatives in Lebanon , with a new way of funding . Zoomaal is one such site that allows someone to post a `` project '' like an album , a book or an invention , which the public can then pledge money to . Each project must fit into one of the platform 's categories and be accompanied by a video , a biography of the project owner and a series of `` gifts '' to incentivize potential backers to pledge money . In line with regional sensitivities , banned projects include anything to do with alcohol , politics , violence , religion and pornography . Abdallah Absi , 21 , is the platform 's founder who has been involved with tech start-ups since he was 16 . `` There are many projects in the Arab world that do n't have the right connections ( to ) fund them , '' said Absi . `` We are trying to market these projects through strategic partnerships . '' Currently entrepreneurs from 22 countries across the Middle East and North Africa can post a project on the site . Projects include an album launch , a documentary and a new take on the toothbrush . Globally , crowdfunding is seeing explosive growth . In 2012 , the market grew 81 % to $ 2.7 billion , according industry researchers Massolution . But in the Middle East the concept is only just catching on . A lack of financial support and , crucially , mentorship is something that Absi believes is holding back creative projects and nascent start-ups in the region . For Habib Haddad , CEO of Wamda , and one of four venture capital funders behind Zoomaal , the true potential of Arab crowdfunding is the connections and exposure it provides . `` There is definitely a funding gap , but that 's not the biggest gap . Access to early-stage money is actually now increasing in the Middle East . `` This kind of platform for the Middle East is something that will push the ecosystem of innovators forward , '' he added . `` It will help democratise creativity . '' Absi believes the key to making this happen is education and outreach because some `` creative communities are not very tech savvy ... and they do n't know about the opportunity they can have from crowdfunding . '' Another crowdfunding platform to emerge in the region is Cairo-based Yomken . A non-profit social enterprise , it aims to link up low-tech manufacturers -- who , in Egypt , are often slum-dwellers -- with artists , scientists , engineers and product designers who can help them innovate in their businesses . Once a prototype of a new product has been made , it can be posted on the site , allowing customers to pre-order . Adel El-Dib , 49 , is a potter Yomken has helped . Seven years ago , El-Dib who crafts everything from pots and bowls to decorative earthenware , moved to using cheaper fiberglass instead of clay to make food and water coolers . Studies have shown that inhaling fiberglass can cause lung problems , according to the American Lung Association . Yomken connected El-Dib with an artist and a physicist to design an eco-friendly clay cooler for food and drinks . The new design , based on an ancient water cooler known as a `` qolah '' made with an innovative clay mix , can cool water in 12 hours in summer and two in winter . El-Dib has sold his new product on Yomken . `` I always worked on clay since ( I was ) 12 years old , but lately given the drop in demand , I shifted to fiberglass . `` The designers brought by Yomken have shown me new designs and I was convinced to try ( them ) . Hopefully , they will bring back the clay industry to the market , '' he said . The platform was set up in 2012 by Egyptian Tamer Taha , 24 , with funding from the World Bank . According to Taha , basic manufacturing makes up almost 90 % of the Egyptian market , and is increasingly under pressure from other manufacturing bases , especially in Asia . `` We try to work on this link from the open innovation part of the website ( to the crowdfunding part ) ... to try to market innovative products that are coming from Egyptian minds , '' he said . Yomken is a politically neutral organization , says Taha , but the security situation after the recent military coup that removed Mohamed Morsy as Egypt 's president did paralyze work . `` We hope the month of Ramadan ( the annual month of fasting and prayer for Muslims ) will bring all the disputing parties together from their narrow political interests and focus on the nationwide interest of the people and the economy , '' he said . `` This is what really matters . We believe that now ... it 's time for the Arab nations to rise again through science and innovation . ''
New online platforms offer chance for ideas to be funded by the public . Sites like Zoomaal and Abdallah Absi follow crowdfunding model of Zoomaal sites like Kickstarter . Educating artisans and innovators of potential of crowdfunding is a challenge says the World Bank 's founder . Global market for crowdfunding was $ 2.7 billion in 2012 according to analysts .