Afrikstart launched is 2013, is hoping to help start-ups across Africa grow through it’s crowdfunding platform. It’s a donation-based and peer-to-peer lending platform, with a focus on donations in the beginning. The platform is set to be piloted in 3 Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa.
It will work with start-up incubators, microfinance institutions, NGOs, universities, among others to help some 1,500 projects, collect US$1.5-million, create 2,000 jobs, and train over 5,000 people in three years.
One-stop platform for African Entrepreneurs
According to Afrikstart they are a one-stop platform for African Entrepeneurs, in particular, youth (under 30 years old) and women:
- Afrikstart empowers entrepreneurs in Africa by giving them access to necessary funding needed to launch their businesses, through connections with donors and lenders worldwide.
- Afrikstart embraces a holistic approach by teaching the technical skills required to start and run efficiently a business through online entrepreneurship courses.
- Afrikstart connects African entrepreneurs with mentors worldwide.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1g2LY05Jnc]
60 million unemployed young Africans
Over 60 million unemployed young Africans plan to sustain themselves by creating their own ventures but they lack the networks, business advisory and entrepreneurial skills to kickstart their projects. The platform will be an innovative alternative to these critical issues with a one-stop platform to help them raise non-equity money from donors and lenders worldwide via the crowdfunding platform, to finance start-ups and small businesses, provide e-learning courses on entrepreneurship and business management and match African entrepreneurs with mentors worldwide and as well connect African entrepreneurs via a social forum.
Stiff competition in crowdfunding space
Afrikstart is not the first crowdfunding platform in Africa, it will be challenging Ghana’s SliceBiz , Nigeria’s 234give and StartCrunch and various players in South Africa including ThundaFund, StartMe and FundFind,
