“I have always wanted to get involved in investment in Africa”

Elizabeth Howard is a 2008 Sciences Po alumna from South Africa, and the co-founder of LelapaFund. This equity crowdfunding platform allows the African diaspora to take part in the African growth story. Interview.

Why did you create a crowdfunding platform like LelapaFund?

I moved from South Africa to France in 2005, and always wanted to get involved in investments on the African continent. I was closely following France's crowdfunding legislation and decided to use it to allow the African diaspora in France and Europe to invest directly in African small businesses and start ups. Considering the favourable legislation along with the large African diaspora, France seemed to be the best place to headquarter the company, and we recently also opened an office in Kenya where we're piloting the project.

With LelapaFund, investors have access to young African entrepreneurs. Who are these entrepreneurs?

We focus on two types of entrepreneurs: young tech start-up founders who are typically in their 20s and whose companies are less than 3 years old, and small business owners whose companies might be 5 or 10 years old. The latter produce consumer goods for the growing middle class in Africa, such as clothes, hygiene products, processed foods...

How does LelapaFund build awareness of its brand among investors and entrepreneurs?

In France, we rely on a very strong network of investors and we are currently working on the creation of a Paris-London diaspora angel investment club. In Kenya and especially in Nairobi, the start-up ecosystem is very organised with several accelerators and hubs which makes it quite easy for LelapaFund to get identified. On SME side, we access companies through partnerships, direct prospection and doing fun product hunts across the city.

What are your plans for LelapaFund?

LelapaFund's growth relies on favourable regulatory environments in our target countries in East, West and Southern Africa. After Nairobi, Kampala and Lagos are our next targets. We want our investor community to develop from France to the rest of Europe, and eventually the U.S.. Including qualified local investors in Africa is also an important part of our growth strategy.

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