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Crowdfunding platform to aid athletes

Regina Pazvakavambwa
By Regina Pazvakavambwa, ITWeb portals journalist.
Johannesburg, 24 Oct 2016
The toughest competition for our sportsmen and women is that of funding, says ProQuest.
The toughest competition for our sportsmen and women is that of funding, says ProQuest.

South African start-up ProQuest has introduced a crowdfunding site which aims to empower athletes to successfully fund their dreams.

The company says the site caters exclusively to athletes, teams, sports organisations and sports-focused projects, and will channel money raised directly to the athlete, irrespective of whether the full financial campaign goal is reached by an athlete.

ProQuest was founded by Tony Harding, who has experience in managing individual and team cyclists, and ProTouch Sports, a sports management company.

According to Harding, in today's age it's difficult for aspiring athletes to get funding that will help in furthering their careers unless they are part of a professional set-up.

"The toughest competition for our sportsmen and women is that of funding - there just isn't enough sponsorship budget available to fund these aspiring and even professional athletes.

"We saw crowdfunding as a way to help these athletes to get some sort of funding to help fulfil their hopes and dreams."

The financial support received for a specific athlete's campaign goes directly to that athlete to help fund their training and coaching, and items such as nutrition, equipment, entry fees, travel, and basic living expenses, says Harding.

ProQuest says it retains a 15% administration fee to administer, process and manage the marketing and collection of funds on behalf of participating athletes.

"We have just finished our BETA testing phase, which focused initially on cycling, but other sport disciplines will also be catered for soon, says Harding, going on to state that there are more features to be added for the future.

ProQuest says athletes and teams will provide "give backs" to supporters who register to fund athletes who've set up campaigns on the site. The give backs will include an item or service offered as a thank you by the athlete or team, it adds.

"If you support a campaign you could find yourself riding with the athlete in a training ride, attending a breakfast or having a casual coffee and chat after a ride or race."

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