Fundkiss, the pioneering crowdlending platform in Mauritius, has become one of the Africa’s first FinTech firms to be granted a Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Lending licence by the Financial Services Commission (FSC). The license came after the startup passed the country’s Regulatory Sandbox Licence (RSL) regime. With the new licence, the startup will be able to raise more money, including from international investors. It will also be able to finance its growing customer base of small companies with greater loan amounts than were previously permitted under the sandbox regime.

“Mauritius is the first country in Sub-Saharan Africa to have a specific regulation around this activity, by way of the FSC’s pioneering P2P Lending Rules. This means that, by extension, Fundkiss is the first African company to be granted a P2P lending licence under a tailor-made regulatory framework,” says Elizabeth Howard, Acting CEO, African Crowdfunding Association (ACfA), adding, “We are extremely proud of the Fundkiss team who have made a fundamental contribution to the development of the African crowdfunding industry and access to finance for SMEs.”

Here Is What You Need To Know

• Fundkiss has come a long way from its inception in 2019, becoming the first P2P platform to gain clearance under the Regulatory Sandbox Licence, the first P2P platform to become operational in Mauritius, and now the first operational P2P platform to acquire the kiss of approval from the apex regulator for non-banking financial services in Mauritius.

• Fundkiss was the first enterprise in Mauritius to be authorised under the RSL system of the Economic Development Board in July 2017. The crowdlending player’s activities began in 2019 after it was granted a licence under this experimental route designed to accelerate progress in the island economy.

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 ($1.2k) to Rs 10 million ($25k).

As of at January this year, Fundkiss had 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.

Read also:After A Major Pivot, Ugandan Fintech Startup Numida Raises $2.3m Seed Round

A typical fundraising campaign launched on Fundkiss runs for a period of 15 days on average.

What Is Remarkable About The Platform

It took about 2,900 approved lenders and 375 active lenders (those who have transacted at least once in the last 12 months) to cross the remarkable milestone of 100 projects funded on the Fundkiss network, which includes both individuals and institutional investors such as the SME Equity Fund.

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.

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

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