Microfinance meets mentoring

With the aim of eradicating poverty through business, C4-World is setting up a global investment platform that allows individuals to invest directly in African businesses. Last year, we featured something similar: Kiva, a peer-to-peer microlending organisation that connects private lenders to entrepreneurs in the developing world. Unlike Kiva, C4-World’s ‘MyC4’ investors can expect to receive a return on their investment. The premise is to treat entrepreneurs in Africa as business partners, with return on investment being the most solid foundation for keeping the model moving forward. Another important difference is that MyC4 is focusing on knowledge as well as capital. The Danish start-up is building an online community to share knowledge and best practices from the global community to serve businesses in emerging markets, starting with the African continent. A closed beta is kicking off in May 2007. Interested investors can currently sign up as MyC4-builders to test the platform and create an active community that’s up and running before MyC4 opens to the general public in Q4 of this year. 2,015 builders are expected to invest at least USD 200, with a payback period of 6-12 months for the first projects. We like the idea of using an online community to create a platform for virtual entrepreneurship, to transfer not just funds, but energy and knowledge, too. Harnessing the wisdom of the crowds and letting them put their money where their mouths are. Worth looking into or partnering with!