At a time when investors are conserving their cash, Ugandan digital-only finance platform, Eversend, which is providing cross-border money transfers among other services, has defied the odds to secure EUR€899,330 (US$1,016,400) in investment from over 990 private investors through a Seedrs crowdfunding campaign, in excess of its initial fundraising target of $613k.

founder and chief executive officer (CEO) Stone Atwine

“It’s a great way to create a community of user investors. There’s nothing better than customers owning a part of the business,” founder and chief executive officer (CEO) Stone Atwine said the Seedrs campaign was part of a fundraising round that would also include institutional investors.

Here Is What You Need To Know

• Even though Eversend launched its Seedrs crowdfunding campaign targeting a raise of EUR550,000 (US$613,000) in return for 7.67 per cent equity, it has ended up raising substantially more. The startup raised EUR897,000 (US$1.015 million), valuing the business at EUR6,616,739 (US$7,373,065)..
• Eversend will use the funds for product development, user acquisition and regulatory compliance, while also planning to expand its offering to Nigeria, French-speaking Africa and Europe.
• Some of the funds will remain in the company’s accounts as working capital to reinforce Eversend’s compensation reserves.

Read also: Ugandan Fintech Startup Eversend Raises $706k Through Crowdfunding

A Look At The Crowdfunding Platform Seedrs

With headquarters in London, United Kingdom and Lisbon, Portugal, Seedrs has over 10 years experience in crowdfunding. The platform has facilitated over 1,000 funding rounds and over 15,000 secondary transactions, according Jeff Lynn Executive Chairman and Co-Founder of Seedrs.

A Look At What Eversend Does

• Founded in 2017, but launched in 2019, Eversend also provides multi-currency wallets and currency exchange services, and plans to offer personal loans, savings, group savings, payments to merchants and investments in the future. Available on Android and iOS, the startup has more than 40,000 registered users and is growing by around 30% on a monthly basis.

“For Africans and Africans in the diaspora that experience inconvenient and expensive financial services, Eversend is a hub for financial services allowing them to save, exchange, and send money at the best possible rates, both online and offline,” the startup noted in a statement.

• The startup acquired a money lending license in Uganda and has participated in programs such as the Google Launchpad Africa accelerator, CATAPULT: Inclusion Africa, the Westerwelle Young Founders Program and the Ecobank Fintech Challenge. In November 2019, in competition with 1,700 companies, he was named winner of the Helsinki-based startup competition Slush.

“We make money in different ways.

– Foreign exchange commission, when a user exchanges currencies, performs a cross border money transfer or trades a stock domiciled in foreign currency.

– Commissions from third-party partners and billers who get paid or sell through Eversend like phone credit payments.

– We intend to provide loans, which will generate interest income

– Merchant payments where we intend to charge as low as 0.5% instead of the 3.9% being charged in Africa to use VISA/Mastercard today,’’ the startup noted in the statement.

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.