Community Investment Fund

For many years now it has been observed in Sub-Africa that many families suffer because of low financial power. This makes them vulnerable in society and they also lack basic needs. This exposes most indigenous people in these communities to exploitation from influential individuals who use their low income as a weakness and exploit them from their possessions.

We seek to resolve this problem by implementing and investment scheme whereby many local communities come together and do regular contributions under a well structured scheme. The collected funds shall be saved and used exclusively for investment purposes or made available for minor activities that generate income. This will permit long term investment which can also be low risk investments while following a strict management plan.

This solution will increase income level among members thereby making them less vulnerable to exploitation.

I want to solve the problem of exploitation of the local population in Sub-Sahara Africa by bringing them together so that they can join funds and create long term business or better still provide funds for members to invest in their businesses.

The situation is serious due to the fact that most locals reach their old age without securing any secondary source of income. They belief investment is possible if and only if one has a lot of money. Many local here don't know that if they join the small they have they can move mountains if their funds are properly managed of-course. 

More than 1000 locals are concerned. My solution relates to unemployment, insurance savings accounts and long-term savings accounts for pensions which are critical instruments to safeguarding these communities.

The population in question are local farmers and hustlers who live in the villages or peri-urban areas. Their main activity is in the primary sector. Let's consider farming for instance, cultivation is usually once a year and during the farming seasons, the farmers borrow a lot of capital input like seeds, fertilizers, pesticide and herbicides so as to ensure good harvest. 

After harvest, morethan 40% of their farming proceeds go to payment of loans. Those who buy their products are thesame people who sold to them the farming inputs on loan. 

To understand their needs i used two methods. 

1) I tracked how their income from agricultural activities are spent and how the push through a season financially?

2) Interview was done with some farmers about retirement and how they plan to lives.

Through this i found out that there was a great need for other sources of income. A good number of the population put their hopes on their children and children on their parents.

From observation, what they need is to guarantee other sources of income. This can be realized through Community Investment Fund.

The problem of social protection is a common problem among these people because of little or no investment or saving habits. More so, this people are relatively poor people with one income source and this income cannot enable them to be part of any social protection program. 

Our solution creates and ensures social protection by joining all interested members of the community together so that they collaborate promote themselves by choosing what they want or using services of an expert. 

This solution touches all the three challenge dimension.

My solution has many competitors at the moment. What makes my solution unique from theirs can be seen as follows;

1) Micro Finance Institutions (Credit Union Banks)

These financial institutions give room for savings and loans. They also pay interest from savings accounts just like normal banks will do. Members are obliged to buy shares and save money as they desire. My solution doesn't need members buying shares. 

2) Commercial Banks

Commercial Banks can offer savings to individuals but these individuals cannot join themselves together as one and use their little drops to create a business or diversify their activity. Banks will offer loans at high rates and don't and don't follow-up. 

Our solutions does follow up and in case of borrow we do so at low interest rates of about 1% without paying insurance and more. This creates financial flexibility among members.

3) Digital Informal Savings Circles ‘Tontines’ pilot 

This kind of initiative is common within the community. The problem with this initiative is that it does not cause investment of any kind. Our solution will not be doing refunds however this money can be borrowed at 1% interest thereby ensuring the members remains part of the business. 

The other competitors still carry the image of the above mentioned institutions.

My solution is a hybrid. It is a perfect combination of some aspects of each kind of existing solution. It is creates jobs and empower people to solve their problems by themselves while being paid as a result.

My solution is a new application of an exiting technology. Just like with Banking systems where members are formally registered and can be identified within the local and international space so is our solution going to me like.

Once a member is registered and starts making contributions, all members are open to come up with business ideas that can be funded from their contributions.

Once an idea is proposed and scrutinized on its financial potential and chances of success. Once this is done, a business plan is adopted and the business funded from the regular contributions made by members. Membership is not limited. 

In a case where contributions don't meet with the business idea, a selected few will deliberate on whether they will boast contributions to meet up with the business' financial demands or drop the idea as a whole. 

If a member has a low cost or low risk venture and is convinced that it will be successful he can ask the Community to fund it. In this scenario, the community will fund and still own the low risk business until the member is able to payback within a set duration. Once the member pays back, he owns the business. Failure to do so, a selected few will deliberate on how to manage the business. It must be a low risk business.

Management and sharing of gains is highly dependent on when members joined the community and how much he has contributed. The management plan handles this issue proper.

The solution will bring tremendous change to the whole community or a given society as a whole. Members will have the chance to improve on their lives and that of the chosen community depending on the selected few.

There is going to be change in the lives of the community. Members will increase the level of savings and guarantee more than once source of income. Since it is the informal sector and we're dealing with low risk investments, financial guarantee is ensured. Members of a Community Fund Investment are sure of another income source, some kind of a retirement pension. This may be small if its one business but when we have more than 50 funded and running business, retirement benefits are ensured and little drops will eventually form an ocean :)

With these changes and diversification of savings to investments their well being is ensured, exploitation reduced and more opportunities possible.

This system is easy to implement once the required software are put in place. It is a self regulatory system which receives and sends out money, calculates necessary possibilities. 

Once the system is put in place, Many other community funds can be created from it. This permits the system to be implemented anywhere and at anytime a group of people agree to save money in this manner and guarantee their pension and/or well being.

Once a community of members agree on regular contributions which does not need to be much money, they can ask members who have dream to join the community and a team or committees created. A members can belong to at most two (2) committees and at least one (1). In these committees decisions deliberations are made following a well defined method to be set my Community Fund Investment management which could be one and one only for all or Depending on the location of the community. 

This means that it takes just sensitization and mobilization of people and only profit making initiatives shall be funded so that money comes back to everyone who contributes money to the Community Fund investment. 

The solution will be a web-based application that can be accessed from anywhere provided the user has internet and smartphone or computer. Every user will be able to use the software because it must have a multilingual user interface and compatible with ICT tools that can access the web and open web pages.

My solution permits members to track their development as time goes by and can permit them to be able to;

1) Make regular contributions using their electronic gadgets and services such as mobile money services.

2) Transfer dividends to contributions which which can be used to fund other businesses proposed by individual or the community

3) Withdraw dividends without necessarily going to a financial institution that is affiliated to the community fund investment or Community Fund Investment proper.

All these puts the members of the community in a more tranquil and serene atmosphere. 

Given that the community i am dealing with are less privileged people chances are high that a good number of them will not have attained a certain level of education, We make sure that at least the nationals languages in Africa are used in the Web based application as well as its mobile app.

The language on the interface will be simple and straight to the point. Adding to reading comprehending of website and app content, we will make sure that people who become members can contact our care service 24/7 and a team put in place to handle worries. This team will comprise of people who master the culture and language of the people of an area where the community is found. These agents have as responsibility to transfer adequate information and transfer their worries to the rightful channel

Currently Our solution is serving 24 people. We have been able to raise more than 4 000 000 XFA (approximately $ 7,220 US)

We intend to advertise our membership so it can reach 50 members by the end of 2020. We will execute our first low cost investment by the end of this financial year. A project shall be executed and our dividends will be shared in relation to contributions made by members

Our system will be able to inculcate at least 600 members per community In five years time and we must have constructed houses for rent or create recreation centers or amusement parks and clubs for people who will want to use them. this will generate a lot of money and members of the Community Fund Investment investment program in Bamenda will benefit from it big time. Our focus is Real Estate business.

My objective is to connect about 200 people to Community Investment Fund within Cameroon. This means creating a secondary source of income for all the 200 members.

In five year time i should be able to connect more than 3000 people into Community Investment Fund program thereby creating jobs and secondary source of income to all of them.

The main barriers i have is raising funds and creating awareness and making the idea sink into the heads of non members. In these times of crisis in the country, many people doubt institutions of this nature.

Funding is hard to get. Funds are required to shift from applications like Microsoft Excel and Access to a Bespoke Application software. Funds are needed to rent infrastructure recruit skilled just to name a few.

Agreeing with members of on the minimum amount to be contributed by each member and how regular the contributions to come in. This has casused me to notice different kind of membership. A group for the low income earners and a group of middle income earners.

Members keep demanding money because of unforeseen circumstances. Since their money have to wait in the bank for a while so it reaches a certain amount, members are worried and have preoccupying problems that need immediate attention. Instead of borrowing money, they rather come back to this Community Investment Funds and request their money be given back

To handle the problem of funds, everyday i consult with people an exeperts for consent on how to go about it. I search for angel organisation which sponsor new created or virgin ideas.

As concerns awareness, members an existing group are encouraged to sell the program and dream of Community Investment Fund to their peers and friends in business and works of life.

Agreeing on a fixed amount for contribution has caused me to consider creating another group which is independent of the existing one. This new group will consider their contribution amount and its frequency. Both of them still fall under Committing Investment Fund and their funds managed the-same institution.

As concerns members demanding money back because of pressing issues, i came up with the idea of loaning money to existing money to existing members at an interest rate of 1%. Reason being that, if the member chooses to come back with the money, fine else if the worst comes to the worst, Community Investment Fund will let go and concentrate on those left. 

The borrower in question can borrow just as much as his total contributions is, to pay back at a one 1% interest rate while continuing with regular contributions

I am the sole person working on this solution. Besides the solution in general, the groups that are formed to contribute money for investment purposes have a whole functioning mechanism of which i monitor their accounts activity and observe their their actions and decisions. 

i will eventually need to work with a whole team though at this stage it's not necessary. 

Firstly, my solution is proving to work very well and the first group created has been able to contribute more than 4 000 000 XAF ($7,220 USD).

Secondly i have been able to communicate with the members for the first Group about the idea and they give recommendations to make things better and testify to the effectiveness of Community Investment Fund initiative. They see the vision in it and follow Instructions that work very well for them.

Thirdly i am tech savvy who dwells in application of simple solutions to complex problems. I have experience in ICTs and know how they can be of help to make life easy. My solution works without doubts the only issue may be in the scope and coverage.

As of now, we partner only with a Bank which keeps our money. The bank is the Bamenda Police Cooperative Credit Union LTD. This Bank holds all the cash of the newly created institution. What we do for now is keep records of members activity and keep detail records.

The Bank account has four(4) signatories to the account. All members deposit money into this account and only a signed check can be used to withdraw money From the account. This check must be signed by at least three (3) of the four(4) signatories to the account. This Bank keeps our money.

We created a minute loan scheme even though it is not the primary purpose of the institution. interest gotten from this scheme generate a lot of income. This is tested and proven to be applicable with the first community.

Since it is contributions and not savings, once the money reaches a certain amount, it is invested into a business and the gains of that business is shared to the members that took part in contribution some kept sustain Community Investment Fund. The sharing is done with the arithmetic of ratio of a whole.

Our sustainability comes primarily from contributions which is deliberate and well organised. Members who want to invest more can do so by injecting more than the stipulated amount during regular contribution.

We will be expecting aid from experts in the fields of business, management, software engineering, Technology,  Economy and above all Funds

We are generating revenue through a loan scheme which was not in the plan from the word Go. Though not through an implemented idea in business idea. So far we have raised up to  $7000 USD from regular contribution. 

Only registered members have contributed this money. A regular amount of $22 USD is contributed by each member every month. This has caused us to grow financially through contributions and internal fund raising.

 During seasons of plenty, a council of few agree that members contribute a big sum of money at once. the money can go up to $145 USD per member so as increase our investment power.

The money contributed by members is exclusively for investment purposes. This means that until the funds reach a certain amount, implementing it alone will drain more than 40% of the income.

We plan to raise funds so as to grow in size. To do so we need money. Since it is a business we can seek to sell our idea to people or organisations of good will to help us stand in out feet. So we will take part in entrepreneurial essays with hopes of obtaining help.

We need to raise a total amount of about $31250 USD to add to our existing funds so as to establish Community Investment Fund as an institution which can manage several groups like the one i am running right now with the assistance of members in the currently created investment group.

We seek to raise more funds in the days ahead so as to establish our office in Bamenda for Cameroon where we are currently operating.

We need funding to develop our application that can be deployed to branches or localities where Community Investment Fund can form groups of potential investors. This is set at $1850 USD.

We need a running and execution budget that can sustain us at least One year. This is because the cost of implementing a low cost investment is usually high.

 We are estimating $10800 USD as rents for one (1) year for a head office and two branches. 

About $18600 USD for working and management staff of 15 personnel who are well trained in the field of banking and management and among them people who master the communities who are part of a Community Investment Fund group

We are applying to the Mission Billion Challenge because we need Funding and assistance so as to expand this business idea that can help the less privileged to have secondary and tertiary sources of income that permit them maintain a better life.

Our solution needs to reach many people out there and transform the lives of our people.

If my solution is selected many jobs and businesses will be created. These jobs and businesses will not only provide needed of communities but the community will be benefiting directly and indirectly from the proceeds of the business there by providing another way of saving money and ensuring a steady income.

Above all i will be very pleased because i will be given the power to be of help to humanity