Across the region, countless individuals and organisations want to launch a project or fund a product — but lack the knowledge and experience to make it happen. Together with GIZ, we set out to change that by bringing crowdfunding education directly to the communities that need it most.

The challenge

There is no shortage of ideas or motivation in the region. What’s often missing is a practical understanding of how alternative financing works and how a successful crowdfunding campaign is built. GIZ recognised this gap, and together we decided to tackle it on the ground — beyond the usual startup hubs and capital cities.

The process

The first step was mapping the cities in Serbia with the greatest need for crowdfunding workshops – places with active communities of entrepreneurs, associations and individuals looking for new ways to finance their ideas. Based on this analysis, we designed a series of one-day informational workshops to introduce crowdfunding to people encountering it for the first time.

The solution

In April 2018, we delivered six half-day workshops designed to introduce as many interested participants as possible to crowdfunding as a model of alternative financing. Each session covered how crowdfunding works, shared success stories from Serbia, and offered practical advice for preparing and launching a campaign.

The workshops took place in six cities – Belgrade, Niš, Novi Sad, Novi Pazar, Kragujevac and Zrenjanin – and together gathered around 150 participants. By moving beyond the capital, we made crowdfunding knowledge accessible to local communities across the country.

The impact

Across six cities and 150 participants, the project showed how targeted, accessible education can open the door to alternative financing for people who otherwise wouldn’t know where to start – laying the groundwork for future crowdfunding campaigns throughout the region.