Honorable Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in his video message at the Tech Summit in Bengaluru that India is using technology as a weapon in the fight against poverty and that the youth of the country has ensured the globalization of technology and talent. The Prime Minister’s speech also noted that the number of broadband connections has increased from 60 million to 810 million over the past eight years, and the number of smartphone users has increased from 150 million to 750 million. The Prime Minister also highlighted that the deployment of technology has seen significant advances in healthcare management and finance.
The country has adopted digital payments as their first choice due to the digitization process across the country and the advancement of post-demonetization fintech solutions. According to a report published by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), about 346 million Indians engage in online transactions including e-commerce and digital payments. The IAMAI study titled “Internet of India” noted that over the past two years, online transactions in India have grown by 51% from 230 million in 2019, a record high.
As more and more people get used to digital transactions and shopping online, the idea of ”donating” to a cause via the internet is gaining in popularity. A CAF report titled Giving in India 2021 highlights that cash remains the most popular form of charitable giving by donors, but its use has declined in recent years (53% of donors in 2020 compared to 2018 year was 68%). Digital giving methods are growing in popularity, especially donating via digital wallets, which has increased significantly since 2019 (44% vs. 28% in 2019). The pandemic may have accelerated these trends – research has found that a majority of the public (72%) are avoiding cash due to concerns about Covid-19.
The Indian crowdfunding industry has grown over the years. Initially, crowdfunding services were limited to NGOs and social activists. These platforms have played an important role in raising funds for community development during natural disasters, providing high-quality education and medical service assistance to needy families. However, over the past few years, individuals have turned to crowdfunding platforms to find support for their personal emergencies in health and education.
Embedded with high-precision social outreach mechanisms, these platforms allow fundraisers to easily find and engage high-interest donors across Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and more.
The deployment of technology by crowdfunding platforms will play a major role in determining the future of the industry. The responsible use of artificial intelligence and blockchain enables the platform to alleviate concerns related to trust and transparency. Today, the country’s leading crowdfunding platform is using AI to help people run fundraising campaigns, predict donor behavior, deliver targeted ads, create content, identify fraudulent activity, and verify the identity of campaigners.
Most people who try to raise money online for a social cause, such as emergency medical procedures for a family member, share a common weakness. As individuals, their access will be limited to their immediate and even extended social circles, so the reach of their crowdfunding campaigns often lacks fundamental digital advantages such as audience segmentation, dedicated outreach strategies and cross-knowledge-platform promotion. As a direct result of this limitation, it would be difficult for them to meet their minimum goals if they were asked to manually configure or optimize their crowdfunding campaigns. They eventually back out of any attempt to put their questions online. This is a common problem that plagued early crowdfunding.
But we’ve come a long way since then.
Input, Target Audience Insights, and High-Converting AI-Driven Outreach
AI tools that can crunch vast amounts of data and predict donor preferences allow fundraising platforms to surface causes that align with donors’ giving patterns and online behavior. Insights from user engagement data also allow platforms to curate content that is of interest to their target audience. The platform is already experimenting with creating fundraising campaigns in less than 5 minutes using AI-powered chatbots.
Additionally, AI-powered tools help reduce fraudulent transactions on the platform.Fraud detection system (with Max Minds scoring) enables crowdfunding platforms to flag fraudulent transactions in real-time, (risk mitigation > 99%) – ensuring donors experience safe transactions.
The fate of the crowdfunding industry depends on regulatory measures and technological improvements. Deploying state-of-the-art technology solutions will ensure a seamless experience during the fundraising process. Technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and blockchain have proven to be important for achieving transparency and reducing fraudulent transactions. With the help of innovation, key stakeholder collaboration, and regulatory oversight, the crowdfunding industry has the potential to become an alternative finance industry.
disclaimer
The views expressed above are the author’s own.
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