Malaik, an impact focused equity crowdinvesting platform, has launched a call for applications to African entrepreneurs with impact focused businesses.

Neku Atawodi, Founder and CEO of Malaik, said: “Africa is brimming with entrepreneurs with growing high impact businesses that could not only positively impact Africa, but the world.”

“Access to finance has always been a tough challenge to overcome and people have typically not wanted to invest in African businesses as they have historically been considered too risky. However, the African narrative is changing for the better and the continent's exponential growth in the last decade shows that an investment in impact focused African businesses can yield high returns,” he added.

Entrepreneurs across Africa are encouraged to submit their applications to join the Malaik platform as an opportunity to raise funds for their businesses.

Malaik allows accredited investors co-invest in high impact African businesses along with experienced lead investors.

Companies listed on the platform will have gone through our four step due diligence process.

Malaik focuses on companies that provide an impact with measurable metrics.

The platform uses IRIS metrics to create measurable goals that entrepreneurs who are successfully funded via the platform can use to report their progress in achieving these goals to their crowd of investors.

Since the launch of the portal, Malaik has fully funded its first company, i-Drop water to the tune of over a quarter of a million dollars.

The company was seeking $300,000 to enter the Nigerian market with a pilot of 100 water purification and vending units deployed into various retail shops, post office locations and government ministries.
In Africa, entrepreneurship and innovation are said to be the key to development.

SMEs are the primary job creation engine in Africa, accounting for over 95% of firms and 60%-70% of employment.

However, SME's in Africa report access to finance as the biggest obstacle to growth.

“Young companies all over Africa face a scarcity of funds to fuel their growth. Apart from banks and occasional angel investors, there is often nowhere to turn,” said Atawodi.

“Malaik is turning this crisis into an opportunity for start-ups and investors alike by offering stakes in young African companies to the crowd. Our unique impact tracker means that investors can track their investments' impact on the platform,” he said.