Launch Invest Africa
- Social Investment
- Community development
- Economic development
- Financial services and markets
- Poverty alleviation
- Microfinance
Example: Walk us through a specific example(s) of how this solution makes a difference; include its primary activities.
Marketplace: Who else is addressing the problem outlined here? How does the proposed project differ from these approaches?
Founding Story
Sandra
Ntsonde
Invest Africa
, NJ, East Orange
Less than a year
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Operating for less than a year
The goal of our solution is to allow entrepreneurs to access funds in order to expand their businesses and create employment opportunities. Our coaching program will enable an exchange of knowledge and skills by creating the opportunities for business professionals around the globe to collaborate with local entrepreneurs. The entrepreneurs will receive capital and innovation. In addition, Invest Africa is developing an SMS-based accounting mobile application that will allow entrepreneurs to report their key sales, expenses and operations figures via text messages: this will increase the tracking of the investments and the transparency of the process. In addition, an education program will support education initiatives in the entrepreneurs communities.
The lack of affordable financial products tailored to the needs of underserved and excluded communities,.
Our solution targets former micro-credits clients based in Africa who need capital to expand their businesses. These clients are micro-entrepreneurs and small business which lack access to traditional banking services due to the lack of financing offered to entrepreneurs who already have received several micro-credits and need larger amounts of financing to expand their businesses and create employment opportunities.
Invest Africa aims to work in the following regions in Africa: West Africa, East Africa and Southern Africa. However, our model could work worldwide since we only need an online platform to raise the funds and local partners to assist the entrepreneurs on the field.
The beneficiaries of the solution are the entrepreneurs who receive funding to expand their businesses. These entrepreneurs will be able to provide for their families and to hire employees who will be able to provide for their families.The indirect beneficiaries are the extended family of the direct beneficiaries and their communities and the users of the SMS accounting application. Indeed, the success of the businesses that received investments will generate an improvement of the local SME sector, the employment market and the living standards. In addition, the education and coaching program will provide services to the entire communities and will contribute to the economic growth in the areas where Invest Africa operates. If our solution is successful, we could observe the development of the SME throughout Africa. This sector is underdeveloped in Africa, even though it represents a vital sector to drive economic growth (SME account for 57% of employment in developed countries.
In order to make this happen, Invest Africa would need to provide capital to a great number of local entrepreneurs and to implement a strategy to ensure their businesses are succesful. To do so, Invest Africa must implement a rigorous selection of the local partners and entrepreneurs, raise a high volume of capital via its online platform, lead them to success with our coaching program and support local development initiatives in their communities via our linked non-profit organization.
Invest Africa has established contracted partnerships with local institutions in the following countries: Benin, Ghana, Mali, Nigeria. As of today, Invest Africa raised $1460 via its online platform and plans to finance an agro-processing plant in Ghana.
As an online platform, Invest Africa will be accessible to anyone with Internet access. The platform and the team members are bilingual (English and French) which will enable Invest Africa to develop in the USA, Europe and Africa and gain millions of users over the years. If successful, Invest Africa could expand its activities in all the African regions by increasing the number local partners/entrepreneurs and set up an office in Africa.Invest Africa will track its impact through program performance indicators (total value of investments, number of enterprises who received investments, number of hours of coaching program provided...) and social and economic indicators (number of jobs created, number of local service providers who better meet entrepreneurial demand)
Reach 1000 online investors and provide $50000 funding to African entrepreneurs
Redesign the website and register the Crowdfunding platform with SEC
Increase number of partnerships with local partners and select projects.
Increase Traffic on the platform: an online marketing strategy to recruit targeted visitors
Reach 10 000 online investors and provide $500 000 funding to African entrepreneurs
Build strategic partnerships with organizations and corporations to increase recognition and visibility
Create a foundation to increase fundraising options and manage the coaching an Fellowship programs.
Build a full-time management team
Invest Africa needs to create a network of reliable local partners in all the countries we operate. These local partners are microfinance institutions, NGOs or small consulting/investments firms. Their role is to identify and select the businesses, process the money transfers and implement a monitoring and reporting system with each business.
Invest Africa has established contracted partnerships with local institutions in the following countries: Benin (Alidé), Ghana (VPWA), Mali (Fiinco Africa group), Nigeria (MICS).
After the first years, Invest Africa will implement the growth strategy below:
- New customers bases: In additional to its original European and American individual investors, Invest Africa will target corporations, interested in sponsoring similar sectored African businesses and the fast growing African middle/upper classes.
- Multiple locations: Invest Africa will increase its countries of operations throughout Africa.
Invest Africa main office will be based in Africa since the goal of the organization is to support entrepreneurship and create employment opportunities on this continent. This will also improve the cost-effectiveness of our solution since labor costs are much lower there. Invest Africa will benefit from the new US crowdfunding legislation that will allow us to offer a return on investment to our online investors and thus will help us attract a higher volume of investments. Invest Africa will also benefit from the growing interest in Africa as an investment opportunity, the fast economic growth on the continent and the growing African middle class that represent potential investors.
We are interested in sharing ideas and collaborate with other organizations.