Fundkiss, the pioneer crowdlending platform in Mauritius ended 2020 on a good note. The FinTech platform, first licensed by the Economic Development Board of Mauritius under its path-breaking Regulatory Sandbox Licence (RSL) regime, celebrated its end-of-year mid-December with a special milestone — 100 projects financed for entrepreneurs by the company.
Here Is What You Need To Know
- The 100 projects financed translate into a loan production of MUR 52 million ($1.3m) with an average loan size slightly in excess of MUR 513k ($14k) across sectors such as Wholesale and Retail Trade, Restaurant and Hospitality, as well as Construction.
- The P2P lending platform was able to achieve this as a result of the partnerships it maintains with lenders, partners and ecosystem supporters.
- This places it in a fair position to receive its permanent licence under the P2P lending rules released by the Financial Services Commission (FSC) of Mauritius on 15 August 2020.
What Is Remarkable About The Platform
With lenders on the platform being both individuals as well as institutional investors such as the SME Equity Fund, it has taken almost 2,900 registered lenders and 375 active lenders (those who have transacted at least once in the last 12 months) to reach this exceptional achievement of 100 projects financed.
Interestingly enough, the top three reasons for lenders to extend loans over the platform have been:
- The yield: At an average of 10% per annum, the return on investments made over Fundkiss is far higher than other avenues available to investors in Mauritius.
- Supporting SMES: Lenders are motivated by the ability to make a tangible difference to the real economy.
- Achieving diversification for their portfolio: Fundkiss allows lenders to access an exciting new asset class of SME loans.
Another Way Of Democratising Access To Finance For Local Startups In A Continent Filled With Foreign Venture Capital Firms
Since 2019, startups in Mauritius are experiencing reforms upon reforms in their favour. Fundkiss, which is pioneering crowdlending platform in Mauritius, is encouraged by the country’s National Regulatory Sandbox License regime of the Economic Development Board (EDB).
Mauritius’ Regulatory Sandbox License (RSL), which was introduced to the Mauritian business landscape by the National Budget 2018/2019, offers the possibility for an investor to conduct a business activity for which there exists no legal framework, or adequate provisions under existing legislation in Mauritius. All the investor needs to do is to submit a duly filled in application for the issuance of a Regulatory Sandbox License, demonstrating the innovative nature of the project at the local, regional or international level.
FundKiss was among the first set of startup companies in Mauritius issued with the regulatory sandbox licenses in 2019. Others include: Xen technologies Ltd a next-generation wealth management platform; SALT Technology Ltd, the first lending platform in Mauritius for blockchain-backed loans; Selfkey, a blockchain-based, decentralized identity management system which provides open source tools for identity owners and relying parties; PIRL, a blockchain implementation that strives to improve the accessibility of cryptocurrency and its related technologies; Olive Crowd project, a financial technology company which serves as an online equity crowdfunding platform; FusionX, which seeks to establish a FIAT enabled crypto currency exchange with offices and staff domiciled in Mauritius; FinClub, a P2P platform will provide an alternative mode of borrowing funds for the borrowers; Be Mobile Limited, an innovative eWallet service based on blockchain and leveraging on cryptocurrencies to transfer money and exchange currency at zero to low cost.
Read also: How Mauritius’ Laws Encourage Local Startup Growth
A Look At What Startup FundKiss Does
Fundkiss is Mauritius’ first licensed crowdlending platform that allows individuals and corporates to lend directly to SMEs and startups. The startup’s platform helps to connect borrowers (sole proprietors or startup companies) in search of financing, to lenders (individual or institutional investors) seeking to diversify their investments and support the real economy, with loan sizes ranging from Rs 50,000 to Rs 10 million.
To date, Fundkiss has financed more than 100 projects for funding of over Rs 31 million ($781k) bringing together a community of more than 1,700 investors in the process, of whom more than 270 are active lenders, in that they have invested at least once in the last 12 months.
A typical fundraising campaign launched on Fundkiss runs for a period of 15 days on average.
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