Nigeria’s proptech startup, Propcrowdy, secures Crowdfunding Intermediary licence from SEC

By Abubakar Yunus Abuja

Proptech startup, Propcrowdy Limited, has been licensed by Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as a crowdfunding intermediary (CFI) company. With this, Propcrowdy becomes the first and only platform in Nigeria today authorized to perform crowdfunding business under the rules and guidelines of the SEC.

The SEC licence to Propcrowdy further gives credence to crowdfunding as a viable alternative investment vehicle. As an SEC-licensed platform under the strict guidelines of the country’s investment regulator, Propcrowdy will be giving investors opportunities to tap into the real estate business for huge returns.

Market target: Propcrowdy, an inclusionary crowdfunding investment platform that is set up to make it possible for individuals who earn minimum wage to access and climb up the real estate investment ladder in Africa, is focusing on two main target audiences which is the population of Nigerians who earn between $80 to $1,000 per month and Small and Medium Enterprise Real Estate Developers whose annual turnover is less than $5m.

Statistics show that over 127 million Nigerians fall into the first category, while there are over 3,600 SMEs in the second category.

Investor confidence: Incorporated in 2019 when there was no regulation for crowdfunding, Propcrowdy said it took the long and hard road to secure a crowdfunding license from SEC in order to build investor confidence.

And to sustain that confidence, the company has assured that funded developers on the platform must meet Propcrowdy’s requirements of environmental, social, and governance factors alongside the security and financial metrics in the appraisal and investment decision-making process.

Success factors: Speaking on the approval by the SEC, the Propcrowdy founder/CEO, Dr Roland Igbinoba, emphasized that success for Propcrowdy will be measured by how much they have been able to successfully democratize real estate investments within the low and medium-income category in Africa, thereby empowering them and improving their wellbeing.

“Furthermore, our contribution to net zero and the reduction in carbon emissions is of utmost importance,” he added.

“We recognize that low-income earners and small real businesses in Africa lack the financial capacity to scale. At Propcrowdy, we are solving the twin problem of social impact and inclusiveness for those at the bottom of the pyramid and creating wealth and economic development for small and medium-sized real estate developers.”