When financial crisis hit Brazil, funding dried up for NGOs, activists, artists and entrepreneurs, stifling the country’s creative economy and slowing down development and innovation, this was a problem Candice Pascoal felt she could help address.Candice’s company, Kickante, is a real success story in Brazil’s spiralling economy. Founded in 2013, Kickante is a pioneering crowdfunding site set up to connect campaign creators with financial contributors who want to help a project succeed.

After just two years Kickante became the largest crowdfunding platform in Brazil, impacting the lives of 25,000 artists, charities and entrepreneurs, inspiring another 500,000 Brazilians to donate and introducing crowdfunding to more than 50 million Brazilians. The company’s rise, which has been compared to the rapid rise of Indiegogo in the US, is fuelled by a number of world first innovations not previously seen in the crowdfunding sector, as well as elements tailored to a Brazilian audience.

Kickante partners with every campaign creator, making the first donation and only applying fees at the end of the campaign on confirmed raised funds. The company not only offers free digital marketing support, but in another world first, it crowdfunds to large and international NGOs. Kickante allows donations to be made in instalments, offers an easy-to-launch campaign function and an open platform unencumbered by curators or bureaucracy, Kickante is fostering a culture of fundraising and donation across the country.