By Josephine Ogundeji
A property technology firm, Propcrowdy, has launched an investment platform to raise project finance for small construction and development companies.
In a statement, the firm explained that Propcrowdy is an inclusionary crowdfunding investment platform that is set up to make it possible for individuals who earn minimum wage to access and climb up the real estate investment ladder in Africa.
Following the approval and licensing of the platform by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the firm claimed that became the only platform in Nigeria authorised to perform crowdfunding business under the rules and guidelines of the SEC.
According to the statement, the start-up is focusing on two main target audiences, which are Nigerians who earn $80 to $1,000 monthly.
It said, “It is estimated that over 127m Nigerians fall into this category and small and medium enterprise real estate developers whose annual turnover is less than $5m are over 3,600.”
The Chief Executive Officer of the firm, Roland Igbinoba, disclosed that SEC had recently prohibited the activities of all agritech and crowdfunding investment platforms due to the massive failure and fraudulent activities of many of the platforms.
He said, “SEC had observed with concern the fraudulent activities of some unregistered investment crowdfunding platforms and had strongly advised the investing public against making an investment with or through any crowdfunding platform not registered with the commission.”
“The commission, in recognition of the potentials and importance of crowdfunding platforms and the need to protect investors through effective regulation, had in January 2021, published its crowdfunding rules and requested well-intending crowdfunding platforms to register with it.”
He noted that in order to build investors’ confidence and trust, Propcrowdy had to secure a crowdfunding license from SEC, adding that Propcrowdy was incorporated in 2019 when there was no regulation for crowdfunding.
Williams Omoruyi, Head of Product Design, stated that low-income earners and small real estate businesses in Africa lack the financial capacity to scale.
He added, “At Propcrowdy, we are solving the twin problems of social impact and inclusiveness for those at the bottom of the pyramid and creating wealth and economic development for small and medium-sized real estate developers.”
“However, funded developers on the platform must meet Propcrowdy’s requirements of environmental, social and governance factors alongside the security and financial metrics in the appraisal and investment decision-making process.
“Success for Propcrowdy would be measured by how much we have been able to successfully democratise real estate investments within the low- and medium-income category in Africa, thereby empowering them and improving their wellbeing.“
Igbinoba assured that the firm prioritised net zero and the reduction in carbon emissions. (Punch)