Fundkiss - Afrikan Heroes

Mauritian P2P Lending Startup, Fundkiss, Lands New Funding

December 7, 2021

CIM Financial Services Ltd (Cim Finance), a major Mauritian consumer and SME finance provider, has agreed to buy a minority position in Fundkiss Technologies Limited (Fundkiss), which has grown into a well-known peer-to-peer lending platform for local SMEs.

“This strategic partnership will not only allow us to accelerate the pursuit of our mission to simplify and democratise financing for SMEs, but also continue to offer a great lending experience for our community of lenders. The partnership will also allow to strengthen our operational capabilities,” Paul Perrier, CEO of Fundkiss said.

As part of the platform’s growth objectives, Cim Finance’s investment will help Fundkiss finance its technology development, better structure its marketing approach, and strengthen its team. Cim Finance will have a representative on the Board of Directors of Fundkiss.

The latest funding is another milestone for Fundkiss, after being the first FinTech to operate under EDB’s Regulatory Sandbox License (RSL) in 2019 and earn a Peer-to-Peer Lending license from the FSC in April 2021.

Fundkiss P2P lending — *Mark van Beuningen, Group CEO of Cim Finance and Paul Perrier, CEO of Fundkiss. Credits: Fundkiss*

Why The Investor Invested

Fundkiss has achieved considerable traction since it was founded in 2019. More than 2,900 lenders have registered on Fundkiss, resulting in a total loan disbursement of Mur100,158,500 ($2.3m) covering 192 projects, by November 2021.

“We are delighted to become a strategic partner of Fundkiss. Both our companies strongly believe that a prospering SME sector lies at the heart of sustainable and inclusive economic growth. We share a common purpose and a strong desire to improve borrowers’ convenience through the use of technology and innovation. This move will allow Cim Finance to reach a greater number of SMEs, enhance our knowledge of their needs and continue to develop further innovative forward-thinking and customised offerings,” Mark van Beuningen, the Group CEO of Cim Finance said.

As part of the deal, Cim Finance will also finance SME projects on the Fundkiss platform, fundkiss.mu, bringing another institutional investor to the platform’s growing community of lenders. SMEs will be able to obtain funds more swiftly and simply thanks to Cim Finance and Fundkiss’s collaboration.

Founded in 1987, Cim Finance has around 750 staff, 7 locations, and 90 in-store counters throughout Mauritius and Rodrigues, and has been in the credit market since 1987. The company is the first non-bank financial organization in Sub-Saharan Africa to be a key member of Visa, MasterCard, and Union Pay, having launched its leasing activities in 1996 for the financing of vehicles and equipment. Cim Finance began factoring in 2004 and then expanded into worldwide factoring in 2019. The company is listed on the official market of the Mauritius Stock Exchange and is licensed to offer acquiring and issuing card services by the Bank of Mauritius.

A Look At What Fundkiss Does

Fundkiss is Mauritius’ first peer-to-peer lending platform, allowing SMEs to borrow money directly from individuals and institutions. This was made feasible by the Economic Development Board of Mauritius issuing a Regulatory Sandbox License (RSL) in 2019. Since then, Fundkiss has aided small and medium-sized businesses with expanding their operations while providing meaningful investment options for individual and institutional investors. The Financial Services Commission (FSC) of Mauritius gave us an official Peer-to-Peer Lending license in April 2021.

Fundkiss P2P lending Fundkiss P2P lending

Mauritius Issues Africa’s First P2P Lending Licence To Fintech Startup Fundkiss

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

Mauritius Issues Africa’s First P2P Lending Licence To Fintech Startup Fundkiss

April 14, 2021

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.

Elizabeth Howard, Acting CEO, African Crowdfunding Association (ACfA)

“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.

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.

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.