Attendees at an event on Thursday evening had the opportunity to learn about two top crowdfunding campaigns currently open on local platform, Zaar.
The Join The Crowd event, which was held on 23 March at Business Labs, Birkirkara, invited the public, business owners, entrepreneurs and members of the press to find out more about the two projects and their progress, as well as network over light refreshments.
Entrepreneur Sarah Grech leads Zaar campaign Perla u Suzy – The Startup of a New Alterations and Upcycling Business, which has a €2,200 goal to cover initial funds for setting up her new alterations and upcycling business. In her presentation at the event, Sarah shared why clothing restoration is the only way forward in fashion.
Maria Fsadni and Michelangelo Galea from Friends of the Earth Malta also presented the background to their Restoration of the Comino Bakery – Restawr tal-Forn ta’ Kemmuna campaign, which hopes to raise €30,000 to kick off their initiative to restore a historic building on Comino that once served as the community’s bakery.
Both projects were also part of the second cohort of the Erasmus+ EU project INCrowd (Inclusion through Crowdfunding), which gives young people across Malta and Gozo the opportunity to make their ideas a sustainable reality.
INCrowd participants met last September for workshops on crowdfunding and to practise pitching, creative writing and digital marketing. Selected candidates – which included Sarah Grech, and Maria Fsadni representing Friends of the Earth Malta – then developed their ideas further during a fully funded trip to the International Crowdfunding Academy in Padua, Italy, in November. Sarah is also set to join a visit to Brussels in April, which will officially close the INCrowd project.
Providing a vital springboard to entrepreneurs and projects such as these – not just in terms of funding but also marketing, awareness and support – crowdfunding is fast gaining popularity as an alternative means of raising finance, both in Malta and worldwide. As the island’s only donation/reward-based crowdfunding platform, Zaar was the first initiative set up by the Foundation for the Promotion of Entrepreneurial Initiatives (FPEI) to promote entrepreneurship and support local startups. Although based in Malta and an integral part of the island’s community, Zaar’s wide-reaching global network helps local projects find an international audience.
“Zaar is proud to support young entrepreneurs with events such as Join The Crowd, which offer a valuable and deserved platform for their projects, and a great chance for attendees to network among like-minded individuals,” says Giselle Borg Olivier, Manager at Zaar. “They also highlight once again the important role of the community in the success of these ventures. With the generosity and support of every backer that donates via Zaar, visionaries can turn their ideas into a successful reality – which ultimately benefits the wider community and puts Malta on the map.”
To find out more and to donate to the Perla u Suzy – The Startup of a New Alterations and Upcycling Business and Restoration of the Comino Bakery – Restawr tal-Forn ta’ Kemmuna campaigns, visit www.zaar.com.mt.
