The latest ICO I've been researching is the Acorn Collective (OAK). 78% of startups fail to reach their target when crowdfunding and only a very small amount of funds raised ever go to developing countries. The Acorn Collective sees this as a problem and their goal is to help startups get funding through blockchain. They believe the best way to help startups is through accessible crowdfunding, project success, blockchain transparency, and through an Acorn marketplace.
Accessible Crowdfunding - As long as a project is legal & ethical, they will allow any country to list a project for free.
Project Success - Acorn plans to provide campaigns with statistics and lists of backers most likely to be interested in their project. Funds can be accessed quickly through smart contract milestones.
Blockchain Transparency - All transactions will be done through OAK, which is an Ethereum token. There will be full transparency in transactions and project spending.
Acorn Marketplace - Their marketplace will give campaign services from Acorn as well as 3rd parties. This includes post-crowdfunded projects whose services might be useful. With premium access, founders will also be able to see data about backer trends and past campaigns.
Acorn's main ICO Crowdsale will go from May 26th to June 24th this year. To learn more information, you can check out their website
I think Acorn's platform is a great opportunity for startups trying to crowdsource in developing countries. It will connect them to investors they may not have easily had access to before. Meanwhile, a lot of investors might be attracted to the transparency involved with Acorn and the ease that blockchain provides. I don't have any startups to get funded, but it still might be worth holding on to some of the token. It's a good move that they're using the Ethereum blockchain because smart contracts are crucial for a project like this. I'll be interested in seeing exactly which developing countries make the most use out of this platform. Any guesses?