At Funema, we are always excited to support visionary entrepreneurs who are passionate about solving the developmental challenges faced by underserved communities in emerging markets. The Closed Circuit is a perfect example of this, with its innovative approach to bringing communities together through technology.
The Closed Circuit has demonstrated its ability to turn ideas into reality, even with limited resources. This aligns with our values and investment philosophy, which is why we are excited to invest in this promising startup.
The Closed Circuit's platform has a strong B2B market opportunity, with Nigeria, South Africa, and Kenya - the first targeted countries - boasting a combined total of over 50 million small businesses. Over 90% of these businesses are inefficient and could benefit from The Closed Circuit's value proposition for success.
Furthermore, the B2C market also shows great potential, with Nigeria alone having over 200 million people, over 50% of whom are under 35. We believe that The Closed Circuit can become a go-to platform for youths to raise funds for their projects, with the potential of even 1 in every 100 youths using it.
The Closed Circuit's platform digitises pre-existing relationships between closely-knit circles, providing them with technology to establish accountability and enable long-serving trust. This fosters a sense of community and allows for more effective collaboration toward shared goals.
In summary, we are excited to invest in The Closed Circuit and support its vision of driving development in emerging markets. We believe that its innovative approach to community-building through technology has the potential to make a significant impact on underserved communities, and we are confident in the team's ability to execute its vision.
The Problem
Unstructured financial collectivist activities
- About 82% of small businesses fail because of cash mismanagement or the inability to raise funds. While this is an alarming statistic, it is readily preventable.
- The problem is that there is need for a more financial stability amongst highly communal societies in emerging/developing markets. There is an opportunity to create models/solutions that would capitalise on a very common and widely known practice of the collectivist approach in solving problems within these communities, using technology.
- There is no ready structure to enable individuals and businesses to raise from their network and effectively manage these early investments.
Their Solution
- A tool that bridges trust and creates a marketplace solution to fundraising
- Our solution to this problem is to create a model that capitalises on this practice of the collectivist approach to solving financial problems or achieving financial goals
- Our current product is a tool that bridges financial trust in the area of transparency, accountability, and guidance in execution or putting structure to execution, so as to enable marketplace activities requiring financial trust in manageable sizes.
Their Traction so far
- Nov 2021 - Started building the product tool through Decagon Institute
- Sep 23, 2022 - MVP soft launch - Full MVP functionality
- Flutterwave approval and integration for transaction management
- April 6, 2023- Partnered with PAWEN.org to have a closed testing with 100 of their female entrepreneurs
