Title: Online micro-investor confidence and alternative financing of VSE/SME in Côte d'Ivoire: a scoping study of crowdfunding

Authors: Gningninri Augustin Koné; Balibié Serge Auguste Bayala

Addresses: Alassane Ouattara University, Bouaké, Côte d'Ivoire ' University Ouaga II, 12 P.O. Box 417 Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso; Centre Africain d'Études Supérieures en Gestion (CESAG), P.O. Box 3802, Dakar, Senegal

Abstract: This paper aims to identify the various aspects of online micro-investor confidence likely to influence the alternative financing of VSE/SMEs in Côte d'Ivoire through crowdfunding. Based on the literature on online investor confidence and alternative financing, a conceptual model has been developed. This model was compared with the field research through 25 semi-structured one-on-one interviews conducted with potential micro-investors in the cities of Abidjan and Bouake. The results of the thematic content analysis (transcript and word occurrence) show that credibility, integrity and benevolence of the crowdfunding platform are key factors of online micro-investor confidence likely to influence the alternative financing of VSE/SMEs in Côte d'Ivoire.

Keywords: online investor confidence; credibility; integrity; benevolence; alternative financing; Côte d'Ivoire.

DOI: 10.1504/AJAAF.2021.116837

African Journal of Accounting, Auditing and Finance, 2021 Vol.7 No.3, pp.225 - 246

Received: 02 Sep 2020
Accepted: 28 Jan 2021
Published online: 04 Aug 2021 *

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