A new crowdfunding platform designed specifically to support black-owned businesses and projects, Rise Fund N’Go, has been launched. Two sisters and second-generation Nigerian immigrants Anita Egbune and Marian Arafiena are the masterminds behind the new platform.
“Between us, we have 35 years accumulated experience across the financial services and engineering sectors and we have experienced first-hand just how difficult it can be to succeed as a black person — let alone a black woman — in white-dominated professional spaces,” Anita Egbune, co-founder and Rise Fund N’Go, said. “The businesses that have applied so far leave no doubt that there are brilliant black businesses out there and we can’t wait to help them grow”
Read also:Why ITC Infotech Sees South Africa as Fertile Ground for Investment— Kumar
Here Is What You Need To Know
- Spurred on by the Black Lives Matter protests, the two businesswomen say they want to empower black communities across the UK through helping them secure funding for their companies and projects.
- According to a report from Diversity VC and RateMyInvestor, only one per cent of venture capital is invested in black businesses in the UK.
“This is a moment from which there are two paths. Either the pandemic compounds issues for black communities around the world for hundreds of years to come,” Marian Arafiena, fellow co-founder of Rise Fund N’Go, said:
Read also:Plentywaka Expands Business to Abuja With $300k Pre-Seed Funding
“Or we take what the Black Lives Matter movement is teaching people and we confront these systemic issues and tackle them head-on. That is what we hope to do with Rise Fund N’Go.”
Read also: Egypt’s Recruitment Startup Shaghalni Raises A Six-figure Investment To Grow Its Operations
- To be eligible to crowdfund on the new platform businesses must be majority black-owned or for the benefit of black people.
- Businesses on Rise Fund N’Go’s platform can be commercial or charitable and the platform has already attracted five live projects.
Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer