Surveying Thailand’s Emerging Crowdfunding Scene
by Laura MacKay
It could easily be argued that non-digital crowdfunding has been practised in Thailand for centuries; dana or ‘giving’ is a key component of the Buddhist religion and Thai culture itself. Any early riser in Thailand will have witnessed the daily alms ritual of monks, who collect their meal for the day from Thai shopkeepers and street vendors. Thai‘s also regularly contribute to the upkeep of the numerous temples, whose golden pagodas grace the skyline of every Thai city. The landscape of Thai crowdfunding reflects this spirit of giving in the large number and success of rewards-based crowdfunding platforms such as Taejai, Dreammaker, Asiola and MeeFund. However, despite the desperate need for alternative forms of raising capital in Thailand, and the recent enactment of regulations which permit equity crowdfunding, Thailand is yet to see a registered equity-based crowdfunding platform emerge.