Uprise.Africa is an innovative online platform that enables the discovery of local businesses with investment potential. It is dedicated to supporting SMEs, whilst tailored to the novice or professional investor. Their business concept is to ensure raising capital and investing in local companies is more accessible and easier for South Africans – and soon all of Africa – to encourage SME growth. CEO Tabassum Qadir explains how they’re bringing Africa into the future.
Uprise.Africa is one company out of many that you have been involved in. What made this one worth starting?
I experienced the lack of alternative funding solutions within the South African SME landscape in my last venture. My personal experience and research on the role that equity crowdfunding has played in other parts of the world was the motivation behind launching the platform. I have a passion for entrepreneurship in Africa and Uprise.Africa will play a big role in enabling SME growth in South Africa and Africa as a whole. In a time of tight resources, entrepreneurs often face a funding gap between their startup “seed” funds and “go to market” capital. Crowdfunding is a great way to fill that gap by scaling what works to the next level. Crowdfunding enables entrepreneurs to test, learn and grow their business models rapidly in the early days of their development.
What is Uprise.Africa’s business philosophy?
Our philosophy is ‘Fall to fly’. The willingness to embrace failure as a stepping stone toward success is our ethos. While it’s important to be strategic about all business goals and to aim for success on the first attempt, utilising mistakes to better inform future decisions will keep companies sustainable and flexible as consumer needs change over time.
Why is innovation important ?
Innovation inspires entrepreneurial thinking. Innovation is the cornerstone of sustained economic growth and prosperity. It is vital as new ideas lead to the making of new products, services and processes.
Read more in our March/April 2019 issue of Fast Company South Africa.
