Following the launch events of the GrEEn project organized in 2020, a new partnership between UNCDF, Emergent Payments (EP) and Strategic Impact Advisors (SIA) keeps the momentum going by introducing an innovative crowdfunding platform called FundRaising Africa.

The platform offers a new way to source capital to over 1,000 youth, women and returning migrants in the Ashanti and Western regions of Ghana and allow the diaspora in key corridor countries to channel their funds back home in support of young entrepreneurs.

The “Boosting Green Employment and Enterprise Opportunities in Ghana – (GrEEn)” is a four-year action plan implemented under the European Union Emergency Trust Fund (EUTF) that is funded by the European Union and aims to create greater economic and employment opportunities for youth, women and returning migrants by promoting and supporting sustainable green businesses. “At UNCDF, we work to build inclusive digital economies. Thanks to the support of the European Union, we can test and pilot innovative approaches in Ghana that are designed for young entrepreneurs and we look forward to making FundRaising Africa available to all Ghanaians. We are also keen to collaborate with such dynamic and innovative partners and share all the lessons learned in the regions to support the digital financial inclusion agenda in Ghana.” said Arianna Gasparri, Financial Inclusion Specialist at UNCDF.

As announced on the International Day of Family Remittances, UNCDF seeks to accelerate the process of asset accumulation and access to finance through innovative services. Crowdfunding and peer-to-peer lending platforms, in particular, offer alternative financing options for young entrepreneurs leading sustainable and green businesses. The new partnership brings together the consortium led by SIA and includes fintech EP and training hubs located in the targeted regions. EP aims to simplify payment transactions in a timely, secured and convenient manner and will be responsible for the technology of the crowdfunding platform; training hubs are responsible for training the entrepreneurs to make sure they are empowered to lead their campaigns on the platform, while SIA will leverage its expertise to link those entrepreneurs and their fundraising capacity with financial service providers for more integrated financial services.

With the support of the GrEEn Project, EP will re-launch its in-house platform FundRaising Africa and adapt it to the specific needs of entrepreneurs targeted by the project. The partnership will allow more than 1,000 users, including young entrepreneurs, to receive trainings on financial management, pitching, marketing and crowdfunding techniques to access funds to start and/or expand their businesses.

UNCDF brings its financial technical expertise and networking power to support the consortium in targeting key diaspora groups and help them channel their financial flows into sustainable and green businesses. “Our ambition is to prove the concept of FundRaising Africa and to add additional financing instruments onto the platform, like debt or equity to support Ghanaian MSMEs while offering convenient ways to channel diaspora investments. We aim at providing the tools to support young talented Ghanaians and their businesses while contributing to the national digital agenda. Securing this partnership with UNCDF and SIA under the GrEEn Project is therefore a step to making this possible.” said Saqib Nazir, CEO of Emergent Payments.

Stay tuned in the coming days as we release our latest insights from UNCDF and our partners’ experience with crowdfunding in West Africa.