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Keerapa Active, a new sports and recreation startup, has launched a crowdfunding campaign on IndieGogo, an international crowdfunding website, to advance the construction of a professional-grade sports facility. According to David Amekpor, Founder/CEO of Keerapa Active, part of the goal of the crowdfunding campaign is to fund the creation of high-quality sports facility. He also emphasised that such campaigns are key to helping people in Africa to accomplish their dreams.

According to a statement released by Keerapa Active on Wednesday,  the crowdfunding campaign aims to raise $50,000 to create a football facility, which can be used for other sports. The fund will also facilitate the design of daily programmes of competitive leagues and sports tournaments between schools. It will also enable aspiring athletes and footballers to have access to facilities for practice and training.

There is also the possibility of offering teams and athletes of various schools Keerapa Active’s facilities on affordable terms.

This first facility will be created in Sogakope, the capital of Ghana’s South Tongu district. About $100,000 is required to take the project forward. The Keerapa Active team, however, has plans underway to secure $50,000 domestically in addition to the $50,000 expected to be raised from the crowdfunding campaign.

“The dreams and aspirations of those in our country who want to become professional athletes or football players are dragged down by the existing reality,” Amekpor said, adding that aspiring athletes usually have to practice their skills using extremely poor facilities and unfavourable conditions.

Contrary to what happens in North America and Europe, where crowdfunding initiatives raise hundreds of thousands and even millions of dollars, crowdfunding for African projects is often difficult due to scepticism of audience and lack of engagement from local African audiences and potential backers. The Ghanaian sports and recreational facility provider is trying to step into new grounds by using crowdfunding to fund its facilities.

According Keerapa Active, the startup has recorded some remarkable feats. In March 2018, it organised a tournament to raise awareness about 5-a-side football in Ghana. The success of the tournament has motivated plans to organise another tournament in March 2019. The group, however, struggles with getting quality facilities available, hence, the need for it to own its facilities.