Libya Crowdfunder has launched its platform that helps startups raise much-needed capital for their solutions.
Rolled out in May, and now hosting its first campaigns, Libya Crowdfunder is the first of its kind in the North African country.
It came about after the founding team ran the second Libya Startups Expo, during which they processed more than 900 project submissions and were in close contact with young entrepreneurs.
“We found that the number one challenge to most of these projects was financing. Knowing well that traditional financial institutions would not cater to this segment, we saw a great opportunity to provide our unique services,” co-founder Halima El Grari told Disrupt Africa.
The self-funded startup is out on a limb in a slowly-emerging Libyan fintech sector.
“The project revolves around a new concept of financing,” said El Grari. “Electronic and mobile payment processing is still in its infancy and not widely known or used.”
Libya Crowdfunder is helping startups make the most out of their campaigns through partnerships.
“We just signed a contract with a production company to produce videos for each startup to help them carry out a successful fundraising campaign. We expect to see good results within three months,” El Grari said.
For now, the plan is to improve the platform to make it more accessible and user-friendly, and secure projects from different sectors of the economy.
“Our primary revenue comes from ongoing success fees associated with a project that received its funding. We take a five per cent fee of the total amount of the funds that have been raised. We also earn revenues each time a new project is submitted or uploaded to the website,” El Grari said.
