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Seedable: Bridging the gap between investors and African entrepreneurs
Role
Product Designer
Duration
2 Weeks
Type
FinTech
Product Designer
2 Weeks
FinTech
At the start of August 2022, I participated in the 1st edition of the SMFest hackathon with a team of two software engineers. This event was organized by SiliconAfrica Technologies to bring together the most talented designers and software developers across the globe to provide quality solutions to Africans and the world at large. This year, the challenge was to create a software application to help entrepreneurs pitch their startup ideas and businesses to prospective investors and funders to gain funding. The duration given for product development was six weeks, with the completed design prototype delivered two weeks after the commencement of the hackathon.
Nigeria loses 74% of investor funding to counterparts like Ghana, Kenya, and Nairobi. These losses are unattributed to a lack of quality business ideas and structure, but a lack of a coherent system that helps Local and Foreign Investors identify, vet, and invest in quality businesses and social enterprise projects. (Source: BusinessFinancing.co.uk)
Now comes the big question- how do we build a platform that allows African entrepreneurs to pitch their startup ideas and businesses to potential investors ? Investors should also be able to vet and fund startups that interest them.
To develop a comprehensive grasp of the equity crowdfunding market and how services are provided in the industry, I started my design process by conducting a competitor analysis across the top 5 equity crowdfunding platforms. The following are our conclusions;
From our competitive analysis, we were able to get insight into what an equity crowdfunding platform does and who our target users were, but we needed additional quantitative and qualitative data from these target users to have an in-depth understanding of their pain points and of course, draw insights on how to create the best user experience for our users. To do this, we had to conduct user research.
Our target audience are entrepreneurs seeking to raise funds for their startups and investors seeking to invest in viable startups. The medium used for the user research was a phone call interview with entrepreneurs, which provides a more qualitative analysis of our target users, and it includes their views and experience of using existing similar applications, their pain points, and get their suggestions on possible solutions to their pain points as entrepreneurs.
From the research conducted, we were able to uncover some of our target user pain points. These include;
The time taken to secure funding:
This is the biggest pain point facing entrepreneurs. Businesses that are applying for funding may not be approved for several months. During this waiting period, the entrepreneur is confused about whether to keep waiting or go after another investor. Most of the time, after a long wait, the entrepreneur fails to secure the funding.
Access to investors:
Most entrepreneurs might have a solid and viable business, but they might not know any investors to get funding.
Lack of investor confidence:
Investors are wary of funding ventures that might eventually fail. They take great care while investing as a result. They need that certainty.
Tedious: The process involved in fundraising can be a very rigorous and tedious one.
To support my thought process and to ensure that I don’t create a biased solution, I created a user persona that would serve as a guide for me to make better design decisions.
The research conducted enabled me to understand my user pain points and what is expected of this product to deliver the best user experience. I specified the following as my project goals, and they are:
Having conducted my market and user research, I’ve been able to draw some insights into how the user flow ought to be. The user flow below shows the navigational structure of the mobile app when a user interacts with the product. (Miro link)
Once I got my user flows all figured out, I began to make sketches for the app interface on paper, creating a first-hand view of the ideas I had in mind for what the UI may look like later in the future.
To keep the visual elements appealing and delightful, it was important to develop a set of rules and guidelines that are unambiguous and understandable for end users. These include customizable UI components, recognizable brand colors, clear CTAs, etc. Typography should reflect simplicity and readability.
A quick onboarding experience to help the user grasp the possibilities that have been placed on their hands. The onboarding flow guides users through a quick transition that explains the summary of the experience.
With a more generic onboarding, the users can join the app using their name and email and get security authentication through an OTP code. Users are also prompted to choose or create a customized username that will mimic their payment addresses.
Here, investors can view the latest and trending startups. They can also filter startups based on their preferences.
The funding process was made easier with a simple, 3-phase process:
Business Introduction: Entrepreneurs input business information, including a pitch video.
Funding plan: On Seedable, the entrepreneur is in control. Entrepreneurs decide the securities and terms they wish to offer. The Seedable compliance team will review the proposed offering terms, including all the supporting documentation.
Verification: Companies must first meet a basic set of criteria and upload requisite documentation such as CAC certification, proposal document, traction document, and police screening. Seedable makes every effort to detect fraud, including researching the founders and verifying the documents provided.
Here investors decide which companies are worthy of funding and invest any amount they deem fit.
Users can see the status of the companies they invested in, track and stop campaigns, as well as withdraw the money they successfully raised through their campaigns.
Here, users receive notifications based on their activities on the platform and also update their profile settings.
This project exposed me to a variety of research methods and problem-solving techniques. Not just that, working on this project taught me the value of cooperation and teamwork.
Finally, after the successful design and development of the product, I won the SMFest hackathon.