monieworx Becomes Pioneer of Regulation Crowdfunding in Nigeria

SEC-regulated crowdfunding intermediary, Obelix, marked a significant milestone today. We fund-raised N100 million in ten days from 9,324 registered small-ticket retail investors – for three SMEs.

In all, 15 eligible fundraising applications were considered by the company’s Screening Committee, but only 3 were accepted by Obelix to utilize monieworx®: our registered Funding Portal, for their crowdfunding campaigns. These fundraisers (namely: Imose Technologies Limited, Alatiron Nigeria Limited and Q21 Solutions Limited) have a good corporate governance record and are SMEDAN-registered.

The investors were among our growing community of 42,545 early adopters on the monieworx® waitlist. The average investment in the Private Notes was N10,725 with the smallest and biggest tickets being N1,200 and N20,000 respectively.

This alternative way of fundraising meets an important need, as the 40 million SMEs in Nigeria contribute 84% of total employment and 45% of GDP – but only 8% of exports and tax collections by the FIRS. The unmet financing needs of Nigeria's formal SMEs are estimated at US$22 billion yearly, and over 70% of the 40 million SMEs cited a lack of finance and access to financing as the main constraint to their business growth. Since only 4% of the 40 million SMEs have access to credit from Nigerian banks, it is no surprise that 80% of new SMEs in Nigeria die before their fifth year.

Obelix onboarded 42,545 users on monieworx® over a 12-month period, through a combination of extensive community engagements to build a suitable “banking replacement”, and an early access programme. A surprising insight from its target audience poll of 100,000 people is that they are willing to invest even without the lure of outsized financial returns. Thus, Ali Yakubu-Concern, the Managing Director and CEO said, “SME financing is at an inflection point. We have been presented with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to win customer primacy and we intend to seize it with both hands. Owning alternative investments will become increasingly valuable”, he added.

It would be recalled that SEC had said in a recent circular that “Any unregistered investment scheme is illegal and may lead to prosecution of such operators and loss of investment by their clients”.

Obelix is widely recognized as the SME-focused financier of first choice in Nigeria. Crowdfunding is proving itself as a financial solution that speaks to the largest numbers through its simplicity, its transparency, and the service it provides to the local economy and to projects that are meaningful for retail investors.

About Obelix and monieworx

Obelix 4.1.1 Alternative Finance Ltd. is an investment-based regulation crowdfunding intermediary incorporated in Nigeria on August 1, 2021, with RC number 1823274 – and the operator of a debt-based funding portal branded monieworx®.

Obelix is licensed under the Investments and Securities Act (ISA) and is regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of Nigeria effective December 1, 2022.

monieworx® is designed to orchestrate an economic exchange and multilayered ecosystem of new sustainable opportunities in Africa. Its tagline is People Investing in People”.

For more information on monieworx's journey, please visit https://monieworx.com/welcome/ or connect with us on social media (handle: our_monieworx), where the most promising SMEs and like-minded investors learn from and support each other.

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Source: Legit.ng