There’s some great news folks. Kickstarter, a platform which has more or less become a synonym to ‘crowdfunding’, has launched itself in Hong Kong and Singapore. Kickstarter in its official announcement says they are making it easier for creators in Hong Kong and Singapore to launch projects from their home countries by officially opening up Kickstarter there. This implies, they can now put their projects on the platform in a bid to attract funding from investors around the world.
Previously, they had to set up companies, or work with collaborators, outside Asia in order to put their projects up on the platform that has previously backed famous projects including the Oculus virtual reality headsets and the Pebble smartwatch.
Kickstarter has empowered millions of people to be part of the development and production of new creative works.
said Yancey Strickler, CEO and co-founder of Kickstarter, in a statement.
Users in Singapore and Hong Kong have been active members of the backer community on Kickstarter since the platform started in 2009. More than 100,000 people from both cities having made over 600,000 pledges to creative projects.
Backers around the world will see more creative and innovative projects emerge — and local backers will be able to take advantage of experiential rewards like attending a film screening or going to the opening night of a new restaurant.
They have created a Facebook group for creators looking for help and have uploaded a FAQ on the questions the platform received. Backers from around the world can support any project, including those from Hong Kong and Singapore, on Kickstarter with any Visa, MasterCard, or American Express card.
Creators can now set their projects’ funding goals in HKD and SGD, and set up their accounts using local banking and business details. When projects are successfully funded, pledges will be collected in HKD and SGD. Similar to any project not listed in U.S. dollars, when looking at project pages, backers based in the U.S. will see the project’s goal displayed in USD. They’ll also see reward tiers listed in U.S. dollars, with the HKD and SGD alongside.
Kickstarter is currently available in nearly 20 countries, including Singapore, Hong Kong (of course!), US, Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Spain.
