Perspectives of Housing Developers Towards the Utilization of Crowdfunding Initiative for Housing Development Projects in Abuja Nigeria

In an effort to understand housing developers’ views on adopting and utilizing crowdfunding as a financing tool among startups and MSMEs in Nigeria housing industry, a study was conducted on the perspectives of housing developers in utilizing crowdfunding as a viable alternative financing source for housing development projects in Abuja, Nigeria. A quantitative research design and online survey research technique were used. A structured questionnaire based on a five-point Likert scale was produced and a sample size of about 352 respondents was adopted using the Krejcie and Morgan table from a sample frame of 2500 registered members of REDAN, Abuja Branch. A simple random sampling approach was adopted in sampling respondents while questionnaire was disseminated via personal email connections, Instagram and WhatsApp. From a total number of 352 respondents that received online messages with a link to the google questionnaire, only 330 replies were received, and SPSS version 24 statistical software was used for the analysis. Three perspectives of respondents ranked 1st with a mean score of 4.93 and include the perceptions that Crowdfunding is a mechanism of pooling and distributing relatively small financial investments from a large audience of supporters in exchange for equity or liabilities carrying financial returns or other non-financial rewards where supporters are people; Crowdfunding is a new internet-based method of fundraising in which individuals solicit contributions for projects on specialized crowdfunding websites; and Crowdfunding is the process of raising money to help turn promising ideas into business realities by connecting investors with potential supporters. The factor analysis to determine the significant influence of stakeholders on their willingness to adopt and utilize crowdfunding initiative for financing housing development projects showed a KMO and Bartlett’s Test of 0.870, a Chi Square value of 4466.241, degree of freedom of 105 and a P value of 0.000 less than 0.05 and it was concluded that the Perception of stakeholders has a significant influence on their willingness to go into crowd funding initiative for housing development. Furthermore, on the potentials of utilizing Crowdfunding for financing housing development projects in Abuja, the 1st in rank with a mean score of 4.90 are stakeholders’ views that crowdfunding increased profits; benefits employer based on self-improvement in knowledge, skills and remuneration; Increased credibility and Increased business. While the factor analysis conducted to determine the significant influence of crowdfunding potentials on the willingness of stakeholders to adopt and utilize crowdfunding for financing housing development projects is showed a KMO and Bartlett’s Test of 0.912, Chi Square value is 15654.345, degree of freedom is 276 and has a P value of 0.000 less than 0.05. Hence, it is concluded that Crowdfunding potentials have a significant influence on the willingness of stakeholders to go into crowdfunding for financing housing development projects in Abuja. It is recommended that, policymakers could encourage equity crowdfunding as a viable financing option for startups, MSMEs in the housing and construction industry.