How AfricanCrowd Works
The full path from a founder's application to a funded round, and what protects investors along the way.
For Founders
Thinking of raising? Two minutes on how it works, from your application to your campaign.
What raising on AfricanCrowd looks like, in about 2 minutes, with a voice-over. Every line is captioned, so it works without sound.
Create Your Project
Sign up and start a project. The guided intake covers your business model, market, team, financials, and capital needs. It takes about 20 minutes. The minimum raise is P50,000.
Submit for Review
Once you've completed the intake, submit it for review. Our review team scores seven areas of your application and a senior member of our team makes the decision. Every outcome comes with written feedback. See how we assess a business.
Prepare & Raise
Approved founders prepare their campaign with our team, then raise. Your own network pledges the first share of the target, and from there the campaign opens to the wider investor community.
For Investors
Discover Opportunities
Browse curated campaigns from African SMEs across sectors and geographies. Each listing has been reviewed for clarity and completeness before going live.
Evaluate with Confidence
Each campaign includes a detailed business overview, team profile, financials, and capital use plan. You get the information you need to make an informed decision.
Back a Campaign
Invest from P150. Your money is held in a separate trust account. If the round hits its target you become a shareholder through the nominee structure. If it misses, you are refunded automatically.
The first campaigns are in preparation. Get notified when they open.
How we assess a business
Before any business can ask the public for money, it passes two checkpoints with a readiness programme in between. Here is what each one asks for and who decides.
Checkpoint 1: the application review
The founder completes an eight step application: what the business does and the problem it solves, how it makes money, who its customers are, progress so far, the team, how the money would be used, basic financial figures, and the main assumptions and risks. A pitch deck is uploaded too.
Our review team scores seven areas from 1 to 5. The scores guide the decision and a senior member of our team makes it. There is no automatic pass mark.
| What we score | Weight |
|---|---|
| Problem and market understanding | 20% |
| Business model clarity | 20% |
| Financial literacy | 15% |
| Traction and evidence | 15% |
| Team and ability to deliver | 10% |
| Competition and risk awareness | 10% |
| Strength of the investment case | 10% |
Possible outcomes
Every outcome comes with written feedback.
- Approve
- The business moves on to the readiness programme.
- Revise and resubmit
- The application reopens with notes on what to fix.
- Not yet ready
- The application reopens, with an invitation to come back later.
- Reject
- Final, with a stated reason. One appeal is allowed within 14 days.
The readiness programme
Approved founders work through six modules that prepare them to run a campaign.
1
Crowdfunding basics
Learn how crowdfunding works and pass a knowledge check (80% to pass).
2
Network mapping
Count the people you can realistically reach: family, customers, contacts and partners.
3
Setting the goal
Break the amount down into capital, marketing, legal costs and a buffer.
4
The story
Write the pitch and the use of funds, and name advisors, partners and proof of traction.
5
Early supporters
List at least ten named contacts, with at least one pledge amount.
6
Launch plan
Set targets for day one, day two and week one, and plan how to reach people.
Checkpoint 2: sign-off to launch
A campaign can only go live when all four of these are true. The platform will not allow sign-off until they are.
- 1Programme complete. All six modules done and the knowledge check passed.
- 2Numbers reviewed. Our staff have reviewed and approved the financial projections.
- 3Terms approved. The founder has confirmed the offer terms, and our staff have approved them.
- 4Identity checked. The founder's ID, proof of address and source of funds are verified, a declaration on political exposure is made, and the founder is screened against United Nations and Botswana sanctions lists.
Every decision is on record. At both checkpoints, who decided, when and why is logged permanently and cannot be edited afterwards.
Founder questions
- What is a pledge?
- A pledge is a named person's commitment to invest a stated amount when your campaign opens. Your project has one pledge link, and you share it with the people on your list. Pledges are recorded against your target; no money moves at that point.
- Why must 20% come from my own network first?
- Campaigns that open to the public with nothing behind them rarely succeed. The first 20% shows investors who do not know you that the people who do have already committed. When pledges reach 20% of your target, we invite those pledgers to sign their debit mandates. When 20% has settled at the bank, your campaign goes to launch review.
- What happens if I am sent back?
- Your application or campaign reopens and you get written notes on what to change, by email and in your inbox on the platform, where you can reply. You resubmit when you are ready. Being sent back is normal and it is a step, never a mark against you.
- How long does the review take?
- We do not set a fixed time. You will hear by email and on your dashboard as soon as a decision is made, and you can message the team from your dashboard at any point.
Pricing
Clear, simple pricing for both sides of the platform before you sign up.
For Founders
5% success fee on completed raises
You pay nothing unless your campaign succeeds.
The minimum raise is P50,000.
For Investors
No platform fees for investors
Standard bank transaction fees apply when funds are transferred.
What to know before you register
- The minimum raise is P50,000. That is the smallest target a founder can set.
- The minimum investment is P150.
- All or nothing: a business is funded only when its campaign reaches the full target. If it falls short, every investor is refunded automatically.
- Founder network first: every campaign begins with pledges from the founder's own network, the first 20% of the target, before it opens to the wider community.
- Investor funds are held in a separate trust account. AfricanCrowd's own accounts never hold investor money.
- Shares are held through a nominee structure, so your stake is properly recorded and the business keeps a clean share register.
- Compliance and verification checks run independently of the team that works with founders.
And the honest part: risk
Early-stage businesses fail more often than they succeed. If you invest, you could lose some or all of your money. Returns are never guaranteed, dividends are rare, and shares in private businesses are hard to sell. Invest only what you can afford to lose, and spread your investments across several businesses. AfricanCrowd does not give investment advice.
Why We Built This
Africa is home to bold, resilient entrepreneurs solving real problems. Yet access to capital remains one of the biggest barriers to growth. At the same time, investors searching for high-potential opportunities often don't know where to begin.
AfricanCrowd bridges this gap: a trusted digital space where founders and investors meet, with safeguards both sides can rely on. When a small business gets funded, the value lands close to home, in jobs, suppliers, and families.
Built for both sides
- Transparent fundraising journeys for SMEs ready to grow.
- Curated opportunities for investors searching for African growth stories.
- A simple, digital way to connect capital with real businesses on the ground.
- A structured readiness review before any campaign can raise.
Ready to get started?
It is free to join, whichever side of the marketplace you are on.