Entrepreneurial Networks for Development Crowdfunding Opportunities for Women in India

Abstract

This paper advances entrepreneurial networking theory by analysing development studies in the light of an empirical study of online crowdfunding for female entrepreneurs in India. The data collected on 725 projects in Rang De - India's first microfinance platform, which mainly serves female borrowers - show that, even when fundraisers can be digitally and socially disconnected from their funders, funding success is more a matter of environment and organisational factors than of project-specific characteristics. This differs from what developed country crowdfunding research suggests. The importance and gender-specific role of intermediaries is also acknowledged, driving more attention to gender-equality and to the digital divide problems in entrepreneurship for development.