ZAAR has shared an overview of its many achievements throughout 2019, continuing
the success story of Malta’s only online donation/reward-based crowdfunding platform.
The platform, whose name is derived from the Maltese word ‘zghar’ meaning ‘small’,
allows local entrepreneurs to present their idea, however small, to the Maltese public,
who can then donate their small change – or more – to support the cause if they believe
in it.
The concept quickly gained popularity and momentum in Malta, with around 30
campaigns now using the platform annually to appeal to the public, of which around six
are start-ups while the rest are projects that are community-based or from the creative
sector. Consistently the platform helps generate more than a hundred leads annually,
and in 2019 it raised over €155,000 in total.
ZAAR also regularly reports a success rate that far exceeds not just its own target, but
those of other reward-based platforms around the world. In 2019, the success rate for
campaigns launched on the platform was 85 per cent, up from the 2018 figure of 82 per
cent, and eclipsing other international reward-based crowdfunding platforms that
average only around a 53 per cent success rate.
“At ZAAR we believe that great ideas should go far, and it has always been our mission
to provide the best space for that to happen in Malta for local entrepreneurs, start-ups,
creatives and charities,” explains ZAAR manager Matthew Caruana. “Our many
achievements in 2019, as well as the excellent final figures recorded over the year,
prove once again that the ZAAR team’s values, experience, campaign selection, and
hands-on mentoring and dedication to the individual campaigns is still putting Malta
firmly on the world’s crowdfunding and alternative finance map.”
In 2019, ZAAR was reconfirmed as a gold member of the European Crowdfunding
Network (ECN), which is given when a platform adheres to the code of conduct and
transparency requirements. Members of the ZAAR team also attended and spoke as
Malta’s country representative at the ECN Conference, as well as at the EU commission’s
work group for Alternative Finance and Fintech.
Back in Malta, ZAAR spearheaded a survey that studied the appetite and knowledge on
investment-based crowdfunding and alternative finance of over a hundred investors
and would-be investors. The valuable results from this survey will now be used to
inform the plan for ZAAR’s investor club and investment-based platform, while
preparing for the 2021 implementation of the EU-wide licence for crowdfunding
recently agreed by the EU Commission, Parliament and Council.

“2019 was another massive year of success for ZAAR; but for us, that’s just the
beginning,” concludes Mr Caruana. “2020 and 2021 are set to be even bigger years for
crowdfunding in Malta, and ZAAR plans to be the catalyst of that exciting future.”

For more information about ZAAR and crowdfunding in Malta, visit www.zaar.com.mt.