World’s first impact focused equity crowdfunding portal launches in Africa, to support small scale business

Small and medium-sized enterprises
(SME’s) are the primary job creation
engine in Africa, accounting for over
95% of firms and 60%-70% of
employment. Yet, SME’s on the continent
report access to finance as the biggest
obstacle to growth. Malaik, an impact-
focused equity crowdfunding portal, test
launched today, to connect investors
interested in impact investment
opportunities and entrepreneurs raising
equity finance. Malaik offers the global
community clear and well-documented
opportunities for high impact investing
in African businesses, a chance to
participate in Africa’s growth story.
“Young companies all over Africa face a
scarcity of funds to fuel their growth,”
said Neku Atawodi, Founder of Malaik.
“Apart from banks and occasional angel
investors, there is often nowhere to turn.
Malaik is turning this crisis into an
opportunity for startups 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.”
Malaik is targetted at sophisticated
investors, who understand the risks of
investing in start ups. The platform uses
a unique system of first identifying a
lead investor before putting a company
on the platform. The lead investor sets
the terms and valuations of the deal, and
personally invests a minimum of 25% of
the companies’ asking round. The lead
investor negotiates a fair valuation and
is required to conduct their own due
diligence before putting their money in.
A lead investor may be an individual
investing alone, or a representative for
an investing group or institution. The
crowd receives the same class of share,
and the same price per share, as the lead
investor, except indicated otherwise.
Companies listed on Malaik decide how
much money they want to raise in
exchange for a certain percentage of
equity, and each investor’s equity
interest is proportionate to the size of
their investment.
Malaik will focus on high-impact
companies that provide jobs and solve
social and infrastructural issues in
African nations while maintaining
profitability. The global portal will fund
seed stage businesses requiring funding
between $200,000 to $2,000,000. Malaik
has identified local partners in key
regions around Africa that will source
for high impact start ups locally,
entrepreneurs can also apply to be listed
on www.malaik.com .
“We believe that business with an impact
should be profitable,” added Atawodi,
“and that innovative entrepreneurs are
the key to developing a more prosperous
and equitable Africa. Malaik’s unique
job index will allow investors to view
how many jobs are created by investing
in the startups’ scale up plans.”
Malaik is the first platform in the world
to track impact as well as financial
reports. Malaik tracks a company’s
impact using its unique impact tracker
that tracks the company’s progress using
measurable Sustainable Development
Goals and reports it in an easy to
understand dial system.
“The needs of our age are building a
more sustainable world, fighting global
poverty, global health issues and climate
change, among others. The innovation in
finance that responds to this need in
Africa is Malaik: democratising impact
investing into impact-driven African
startups,” said Issam Chleuh, Malaik
Impact Advisor and CEO Africa Impact
Group.
Malaik charges no upfront or ongoing
charges to investors, and receives
nothing if a company does not make a
profitable return. Malaik is showcasing
its first fully funded company, I-drop
water, a data powered innovative
vending water machine that addresses
the challenges of clean drinkable water
in Africa. Press may request invites to
private events in Lagos and Ghana this
December.