Crowdfunding site Kickstarter has officially opened its doors to projects in Asia after it announced its availability in Hong Kong and Singapore this week. The service is available in 18 countries, including Australia, but these are its first in Asia.
This is an ‘official’ launch because there have been projects from the two countries and other parts of Asia in the past — such as sous vide machine Nomiku and the ill-fated 3D printer Pirate3D — but now some of the barriers that used to exist, which included getting set up in the U.S., UK or another official Kickstarter country, have been removed for makers in these two countries.
To date, Kickstarter has helped over 110,000 projects get off the ground, and its users have spent more than $2.5 billion backing ideas on the service.
It isn’t just about technology, although that is what Kickstarter is best known for.
“Backers around the world will see more creative and innovative projects emerge — and local backers will be able to take advantage of experiential rewards like attending a film screening or going to the opening night of a new restaurant,” the company said in a blog post.
Kickstarter highlighted a collection of new projects from Hong Kong and Singapore, including: The GIY Stick: Let nature self-water your pots, The Unappropriated Recipes: Para Site’s First Cookbook, URI Led Light Bulb I Modern Lamp Design for Home Interior, Hydra — Your Plant Care Companion, and CROZ D.I.Y Digital Camera — Simple. Stylish. Iconic.