Denis Opudo
Many startups fail to do well due to inability to fund their own activities. Any startup or business requires sufficient capital to run its operations at any given stage. Without capital, the good ideas that founders have will go wasted. Therefore, adequate capital is a key requirement for the running of any startup. That is why various crowdfunding platforms like equity crowdfunding are coming in to help startup raise the desired capital. Equity crowdfunding platforms are different from other crowdfunding platforms.
Equity crowdfunding is the process where members of the public (crowd) get equity (shares). The crowd then funds the operations of the startup in exchange for the shares received. The platform is of help to small businesses or startups that are sourcing for funds to run their operations. Uprise.Africa is an equity crowdfunding platform that was launched in 2017. The platform helped a beer startup to raise R1 million within a period of 24 hours.
For a startup to use Uprise.Africa as its source of crowdfunding, it has to meet some conditions. The business profile must contain the following basics;
The business must be small or medium enterprise
The business must have registered and had a registered tax number
The company must be operational and based in South Africa
The business must be in a position to give a good return with a strong working team
The entrepreneurs must have a higher percentage right and IP towards the business.
The equity crowdfunding then partners with entrepreneurs to develop a pitch. The pitch is used to display investment opportunities and their businesses. In case the crowd develops an interest in the business then they go ahead and invest. The two can also partner to carry out campaign promotions and marketing of the business. Moreover, Uprise.Africa promotes campaigns through real-world networks and social media. Those wishing to use Uprise.Africa pay a fee of R23000 that includes VAT. Businesses are able to get back their funds ones the crowdfunding succeeds. Moreover, Uprise.Africa refunds 50% of the fee in case it does not take the deal live on the platform. Here is the fee charged by the platform.
Prospectus: R8000
Legal due diligence: R5000
Admin: R2000
Financial due diligence: R5000.
