Crowdfunding Practices in the World and Turkey

Öz

Crowdfunding, based on the sharing economy model, involves raising small amounts of money from many individuals to finance a specific activity. Although it is often seen as a new model through digital platforms, similar examples can be found in history. For instance, the French public’s donations for the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty or Voltaire’s campaign to fund the publication of "Candide" can be considered early forms of crowdfunding. However, its widespread adoption, with a systematic structure and broad access, became possible in the 2000s due to the growth of the internet. As internet infrastructure strengthened and financial systems digitalized, the process became more efficient and accessible. Among the four main categories of crowdfunding models today, individual and social support campaigns are the most common, with the GoFundMe platform being the most well-known example. In Turkey, legal regulations in this area were introduced in 2017 and 2019, and various initiatives and platforms have been established in parallel. The CrowdSpace database analyzed 195 platforms based on variables such as sector, fund type, country of operation, payment method, and total fund volume. The findings indicate that a significant portion of these platforms are focused on SMEs, ventures/startups, and real estate, while platforms with fund volumes of $1 billion or more specialize in investment-intensive areas such as real estate, P2P lending, startup financing, and tokenized assets. Furthermore, bank transfers are found to be the predominant payment method, with European-based platforms prominently featured in the continental distribution. This study aims to fill a gap in the literature by comparing international platform structures with practices in Turkey. The findings demonstrate that crowdfunding is a rising tool in the digital finance ecosystem, and that strengthening the regulatory framework, in particular, is critical to its sustainability.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Crowdfunding
• Financial Campaign
• GoFundMe
• CrowdFon

Dünya’da ve Türkiye’de Kitlesel Fonlama Uygulamaları

Öz

Temeli paylaşım ekonomisi modeline dayanan kitlesel fonlama, belirli bir faaliyetin finansmanı amacıyla çok sayıda bireyden küçük tutarlarda fon toplanarak, bu fonun ilgili faaliyet için kullanılması süreci olarak tanımlanabilir. Her ne kadar günümüzdeki uygulamaları dijital platformlar üzerinden yürütülen yeni bir model gibi görünse de bu yaklaşıma benzer örnekler tarihte de karşımıza çıkmaktadır. Örneğin, Amerika’daki Özgürlük Heykeli’nin kaidesinin finansmanında Fransız halkının yaptığı bağışlar ya da Voltaire’in "Candide" adlı eserini yayımlamak için yürüttüğü destek kampanyası, kitlesel fonlamanın erken örnekleri olarak değerlendirilebilir. Ancak, kitlesel fonlamanın sistematik bir yapı ve geniş erişimle bütünleşerek yaygınlaşması, internetin küresel ölçekte kullanımının artmasıyla 2000’li yıllarda mümkün olmuştur. İnternet altyapısının güçlenmesi ve finansal sistemlerin dijitalleşmesi sayesinde, bu süreç daha etkin ve erişilebilir hâle gelmiştir. Günümüzde dört temel kategoride uygulanan kitlesel fonlama modelleri arasında, bireysel ve toplumsal destek kampanyaları en yaygın olanlardır; bu alandaki en bilinen örnek ise GoFundMe platformudur. Türkiye’de ise bu alandaki yasal düzenlemeler 2017 ve 2019 yıllarında yapılmış; buna paralel olarak çeşitli girişimler ve platformlar faaliyete geçmiştir. The CrowdSpace veri tabanından elde edilen 195 platformun; sektör, fon türü, faaliyet gösterilen ülke, ödeme yöntemi ve toplam fon hacmi gibi değişkenleri analiz edilmiştir. Bulgular, platformların önemli bir kısmının KOBİ, girişim/startup ve gayrimenkul odaklı olduğunu; 1 milyar dolar ve üzeri fon hacmine sahip platformların ise özellikle gayrimenkul, P2P lending, startup finansmanı ve tokenleştirilmiş varlıklar gibi yatırım yoğun alanlarda uzmanlaştığını göstermektedir. Ayrıca, ödeme yöntemlerinde banka havalesinin baskın olduğu, kıta dağılımında ise Avrupa merkezli platformların belirgin şekilde öne çıktığı tespit edilmiştir. Bu çalışma, uluslararası platform yapıları ile Türkiye’deki uygulamaları karşılaştırmalı olarak ele alarak literatürdeki boşluğu doldurmayı amaçlamaktadır. Elde edilen bulgular, kitlesel fonlamanın dijital finans ekosisteminde yükselen bir araç olduğunu ve özellikle düzenleyici çerçevenin güçlendirilmesinin ekosistemin sürdürülebilirliği açısından kritik önem taşıdığını ortaya koymaktadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Kitlesel Fonlama
• Finansal Kampanya
• GoFundMe
• CrowdFon

Kaynakça

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