July 4th, 2017, University of South Africa (UNISA) Dept. of Finance, Risk Management and Banking Prof. Daniel Makina discussed the Role of Social Media in Crowdfunding. He made the presentation at the 4th European Social Media Conference held at Mykolas Romeris University (MRU).

A majority of people using social media, are young and therefore they are more likely to take part in crowdfunding, he said. Crowdfunding allows a large number of individuals with small amounts of cash, to finance a project, he noted.

He said that supporters of Crowdfunding are young, and usually contribute a minimum of $100. towards financing a project. If it involves peer-to-peer lending, the figure can reach $1,000, he said.

Prof. Makina also pointed out that people are more likely to give money when they feel they "have a connection" to the cause or product.

Prof. Makina, a well-known researcher, has published in national and international journals. His scholarly work has won acclaim from organisations such as UNDP and UNICEF. He is one of the outstanding international scholars honoured by Elsevier Publisher with an invitation to contribute to the International Encyclopaedias of Housing and Home.

He was one of dozens of academics and researchers from some 40 countries that participated in the 4th European Conference on Social Media held at MRU July 3rd-4th, 2017.