WHICH CROWDFUNDING BUSINESS IS THE BEST TO INVEST WITH: FARMCROWDY, THRIVE AGRIC OR AGROPARTNERSHIP?

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Image: Feeddough.com

Crowdfunding is not a new idea. It refers to raising funds through the public. 
This financing method is fast becoming very popular in Nigeria; especially for debt financing. 
Some start-up tech companies are using this same idea to finance agriculture in Nigeria (which is fantastic for our self-sustenance). 
Anyway, since news broke about how Farmcrowdy raised $1M in seed funds, several other start-up companies have joined the bandwagon of crowd funders helping farmers raise monies to finance their farms.

However, a few of these companies (not necessarily part of the bandwagon) stand out:  

I use all the above mentioned platforms except for Pork Money (their capital requirement is too high and their interests rate low. Therefore Porkmoney is not for me).  Anyway, this review is based on my own customer experience on these various platforms.


Agropartnership:

Plus:
·  Of all these agriculture funding platforms, they offer the highest return on investment.  Interest rates can be as high as 35% of your capital and tenure is usually reasonable (6-7 months).
·        Average farm lot costs about 95,000 which is not too high.
·        Payment on the platform is easy and fast (up! Paystack)

Minus:
·    Farms are allegedly 100% insured (according to their website). However, the insurer’s information is not readily available on their site.
·        Farm lots are extremely difficult to get. Once the lots launch, before you say, Jack, they are all gone!
·        They don’t send you email updates regarding ongoing projects.
·   They are not really social which is bad because, in today’s digital age, the more mentions a company has on the web, the more credible they appear to be.
·        Farm openings are so infrequent.


Thrive Agric:
Plus:
·        The capital requirement is not too high. That is, Farm lots can be as low as 45,000 Naira each.
·        It is easy to make payments on the platform. Again, I am loving the pay stack.
·        Interest rates are about 15-20%.
·        Insurance is provided by Leadway Assurance.
·        They have frequent farm openings.   
Minus:
·        The tenures are getting longer (9 months) and I am not sure that investing money for so long (at medium risk), only to receive 20% makes much sense to me. For example, if I keep 10,000 Naira for 9 months at a 20% interest rate, I will get only 2,000 Naira afterward.

Farmcrowdy:
They are almost a mirror image of Agropartnership; in my opinion.
Plus:
·        New farms are opened regularly.
·        Payment is easy to make on the platform, thanks to Paystack.
·        They provide regular email updates on current projects.  There are also video and photo updates on their website. In my opinion, this adds to their credibility. I particularly like the video updates because you can see the social impact of your investments.
·        Insurance is provided.
·   They are always being mentioned in the news. Recently Farmcrowdy launched Crowdyvest; their online platform that connects potential investors to various businesses across the sectors of the economy. I think this is the next big thing and I can't wait. 

Minus:

  • Rates are rather low these days. 10-15%
  • One time, I had to send emails to cash my investment; I thought payments were supposed to be automatic.

Last words:

I really don’t have a favorite. I would say Agropartnership makes the most sense to me financially since in reality, they all carry the same levels of risk. I am not an agent of these companies. So, I beg you to do your own research before you invest in any of them.

-Tobi Amokeodo

P.S: Thrive Agric had several months of delays paying investors in 2019/2020. They eventually paid all investors in 2020 but have not opened up for crowdfunding since then. I heard PorkMoney allegedly closed operations as well. 

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