Eradicate Poverty through Business

MyC4 is a new web platform that enables people to contribute to the eradication of poverty in Africa by investing in African businesses.

The idea is simple, say the founders, Mads Kjær and Tim Vang, who run the operation from offices in Copenhagen and Kampala. The site lists Opportunities, businesses in need of capital, which have been selected through MyC4’s network of Providers in Africa. Investment works on a bidding system – what the organizers describe as a Dutch auction, which basically means that the more people that are interested in investing, the more favourable the terms become for the African business. This variable interest rate, say the organizers, helps ensure that the entrepreneurs behind the most attractive Opportunities benefit directly.

Projects are intended to be investments in growth (in stock, new employees, etc) that offer a material return: each project is subject to a due diligence process which looks at the prospects for a return on investment. MyC4 also takes into consideration whether the Opportunity lives up to the UN Global Compact principles, while each entrepreneur must list two of the UN Millennium Development Goals as their main targets.

Investors can invest in one or as many Opportunities as they wish, either individually or as part of a larger group. The minimum investment is €10 (in the interests of simplicity, the unit of currency adopted by MyC4 is MyCredit, which is equivalent to €1). To date, 137 opportunities have been funded, with 285,120 MyCredits uploaded. Moreover, none of the Opportunities have been late with their repayment.

For more information
www.myc4.com