BULAWAYO – The MDC Alliance has turned to the internet to harness the power of crowdfunding in a bid to raise legal fees and fund its justice campaign.

Crowdfunding has opened doors for people to raise funds online from donors around the world.

MDC Alliance, through its deputy treasurer general, Charlton Hwende, appealed to its supporters across the world for financial support after losing its Presidential Election challenge that was thrown out with costs by the Constitutional Court.

Zanu PF, which was cited in the petition, alleged its legal bill is $3 million while other respondents such as the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission are yet to send theirs to the party.

Crowdfunding uses built-in social media tools and utilises the power of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, e-mail and others to take campaigns to audiences.

By using social media, the funding appeal message is amplified, while paid channels push the campaign to potential million supporters.

An advantage of crowdfunding is funds can be transferred as quickly as they are processed and there is no need to wait for a campaign to finish

The MDC is collecting money from Zimbabwe-resident supporters through EcoCash (Merchant Code 204861 registered as NC Trust) while supporters out of the country are donating through GoFundMe to raise $100,000. At least $10,000 had been raised by Monday night.

A message soliciting for funding from the party says: “Every little helps. Let’s stand together because the journey to change requires each and every one of us to play a part.”