Crowd Funding was primarily for basic Humanitarian helping to rescue the needy, mostly on health issues. Since humans get excited over every good news, both good and bad folks are using ‘crowd funding’ to get inventions out in the market. I think we can do better by introducing ‘crowd investing’ where it makes sense. With very little programming one can have a ‘crowd investing’ function or button.
However, a billionaire or even a rising tech company should see the opportunities beyond finance. Imagine a poor African who invents or just wants to research on special body cameras, batteries, small personalised air-crafts to make cars obsolete, etc. It is not just the potential billions, but how Humans will benefit and how God may re-pay? It can get started without much government involvement, but having good government regulations will mean more trust and quicker success.
Imagine a company or institution called ‘Africans/Humans for Inventions Through Crowd Investing (AICI/HICI)’. Inventors or researchers will be required to fill a form and pay a small fee to be featured and help secure funding in transparent ways. If you trust Jarga Gigo can make Juts Quhr-aahn and/or a personalised small aircraft, drone, etc — you can donate one to five dollars; but is it not nicer if you have the option to invest thirty to xyz dollars, help him, help yourself, and help humankind? AICI/HICI will have smart calculations to show you how many points the first million dollars will garner – that part is for your primary knowledge similar to shares.
A good company policy or government regulation will state how Jarga will receive such funds by stages to minimize possible fraud. You must show where you paid the first million or hundred thousand dollars we give you, but even if we have differences in regards to value or progress, we will report to the public, but may give you more to finish the project. Some of the procurement payments can actually be done by such AICI/HICI to reputable companies.
My point is different options of regulations may be applied with time. Since African+ governments allow their citizens to give over hundred dollars to crowd funding, internet gambling, sports betting, etc then you can fight to world court to have such a company, with clear policies. Poor Jarga or xyz may be able to afford a one dollar donation to a camera company, but you will need one million people to raise one million dollars through that level/option. In contrast, poor Jarga loves cameras so much or have big trust in your company, so allow him and xyz to invest based on a mutual minimum. If Jarga and/or xyz invests fifty dollars each, then you need only twenty thousand people to raise the same million dollars and start producing products or services… I think it is not just smarter, but a more honest approach.
Like anything, risks and learning curves will mean the best of people should try it, and governments should help them with the right regulations. Great if the AU worked on such, but again this is best from global perspective, because many western inventors struggle to get initial financing, plus wouldn’t you want the hundreds of millions of good westerners+ donate/invest? So include them from the name to the marketing. Ok, do I deserve a share on such for the marvellous idea? First, I am anti deceiving and pro helping the trying poor. So do not charge high submission fee, or may God make you fail.
Do not demand unreasonable percentage for collecting money or monitoring inventors to report both successes and failures. Instead, understand if you help ten inventors, per year, become millionaires or billionaires, then shaming ten defrauders is not part of your failure. You may consider a cap in the beginning, especially as the first payment transfer. Understand you will incur cost, so you must charge reasonably to avoid inability to function properly. Beside the inventors, how will you pay investors before total separation? You need good calculations and perhaps good lawyers for great contracts and disclaimers where need be. If you help millions of Africans+ turn fifty dollars to thousand dollars through inventions, then calculate the benefits beyond finance. Then your ads can smartly say skip or divide your gambling, praise singing gifts, etc towards helping great minds…
Options to credit cards to donate or invest: I truly think the AU or UN should help the poor acquire things and services on the internet. Although many financial services are rising in Africa, having a major one on internet payments to companies is different and lacking. One time or prepaid credit cards through such rising financial services will help. Until then, your company AICI/HICI can choose one to two local financial services per country to purchase a token for share buying, on crowd investing. Your app can sort that based on the country. Although the leaning is investing, do not ignore a donation button, because some may not be able to afford the minimum, and may still love to help. May God Bless us through Show love Trinity: Let’s learn, let’s work, let’s have fun.
Optional note:
There is a difference between the poor and the trying poor. Within the trying poor, you may have good to best. Since Knowledge remains to be the foundation and ceiling to human development, then only the best of the poor will invest on knowledge for self versus funding knowledge to others at what levels? Sponsoring a poor child is good, they can get formal education, which is like the left-over of thinking or inventions. Sponsoring, funding, or co-investing on research and development, or needed inventions are much higher.
There is ‘time’, in which both the rich and poor can only get 24 hours, but how do we spend it so differently? What percentage of your time you spent on learning, vs working, vs having fun per decade of your life? Submission can make you buy products and services of learning+, but is believing not higher than submitting ? Paying taxes is not optional, so do not say only the government should sponsor R&D, and the poor can drink alcohol to insult God; or the poor should never sponsor learning without expecting? Ok, if the poor can donate to the rich or would be soon rich, then investing is an opportunity denied to the poor as an option?
I do not want to buy shares in certain companies, even if the money from weapon industries may be bigger. I think a big leap on batteries that can last for decades or centuries is feasible and will greatly help humankind. So I am not with the poor who give to marabouts, praise singers, and sex, sex, sex; but show them where to support learning (iqra) than questionable marabouts. So I want a company or companies that make and research for better batteries. They said hemp batteries are better, but not yet good enough for me. So is it nuclear batteries, special solar batteries, or what humans are yet to know? I do not mind if my researchers use alcohol or marijuana, but preferably not during working hours.
However, if medical conditions demand they need it to function, then cameras are enough in my workplace. Should I have a limit on how much you use on break-time if it may boost our research, or fear you may hurt yourself under camera, or indifferently allow you at home to hurt your partner? Average should remain to be a guide with exceptions, because the best deserve exceptions , and the worse caught on camera can be punished. I cannot claim cameras or marijuana will be good to everyone, but even cameras were made with God’s help, evolving through God’s help, but why should we deserve to own what levels of such companies if we refuse to invest? If Nigeria or xyz invests billions only on fuel subsidies, then can millions of Nigerians or xyz help me make fuel free faster aircrafts for travelling? Regulations on twenty potential inventors mean how many may succeed and by when? Efforts and patience are like two love birds, but efforts can replace or minimize needed patience to produce a child called achievements, or children call achievements upon achievements.
Since patience have so many branches, it may have little to do with certain achievements. Within weeks, this company or institution can be established and start helping people. The girl who sought you for good or bad, the one who rubs you on the first night, may still be better than the girl who denied you and bob marley ‘for three years’, then easily gave it up to Trump+, R. Kelly for money or love? Who was serving Bob Marley all those three years, while he ungratefully kept on knocking on the door of a single or married woman? I believe a big chunk of patience is preached by abusive devils, begging devils, and sometimes against devils in good ways to help the truly Godly folks.
So believe in efforts where you have a choice. Do not wait on governments, but lead and governments will eventually follow. The idea means God potentially agrees, but the ‘when’ may be beyond you. The ‘when’ or achievements may demand efforts from you. What percentage of African+ media houses ever have editorials or prime hour discussion on such a need? Then grateful or ungrateful business folks will proceed with or without the mediums of great ideas. Governments like taxes or money like prostitutes, but they have guns and some good people? Regardless of how we think about the government, we must deal with them in good faith, or sue them to courts of humans and/or God.
Jarga k. Gigo
An Activist and Transformer.
