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In Editor's Choice By

HerVest: All About The New Funding & Mentoring Platform Designed To Support Women

Gaining startup capital  for a new business can be extremely challenging. Women are often cut out of lucrative venture capitalist funding, leaving them with few options to accumulate the funds they need to launch their new venture. HerVest is here to change the narrative, as it is set to to help  women gain independence with a platform to help fund their dream ventures.

HerVest is a female-focused financial inclusion tech platform that enables women to participate in key financial services such as savings, investment and credit particularly credit for Small Holder Women Farmers. Launched in August 2020,  with about 2000 women currently using HerVest on both demand and supply sides.

According to Solape Akinpelu, founder  and CEO of  HerVest; “We launched the initiative to improve women’s lives by giving them greater access to and use of financial services and technology , our mission is to reduce gender based abuse and violence while strengthening an overlooked demography to feed Africa and the world’.

To know more about HerVest, kindly visit website at www.hervest.ng , the mobile app is available on Android and iOS at www.hervestng.app.link respectively

 

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In Interviews&profile By

Meet Odunayo Eweniyi , The Woman Promoting Savings Culture Through Piggybank

Odunayo Eweniyi a serial tech entrepreneur and one of the forces to be reckoned with in Nigeria’s (fin)tech space.

Straight after bagging a first class degree in Computer Engineering from Covenant University, Odunayo and six of her friends – Somto Ifezue, Joshua Chibueze, Ayo Akinola, Ibukun Akinola, Terry Kanu, Nonso Chinagorom, set up Push CV, a ob site with a really large database of pre-screened candidates.

Somto, Joshua, and Odunayo then went on to set up PiggyBank.ng (now PiggyVest), in 2016, following a social media post where a woman said she kept a “kolo” (piggybank) where she was putting money into everyday.

One of Odunayo’s co-founders, Josh saw this, and decided to see if they can digitise the concept. They spoke to their Push CV users about how else they can help them, and savings was the top choice.

By this time, Push CV was already profitable and this new idea might be the next big thing.

Indeed it was! They launched that same year and the reception was impressive. By the end of that year, users had saved N26m, and when the following year (2017) was ending, users had saved close to N1bn.

Piggybank.ng moved from a savings platform, to an investment platform, promising over 13% ROI to users.

PiggyVest “helps you stop excessive spending by allowing you save and invest money you would normally be tempted to spend,” the company says on its website.

In 2018, PiggyVest (then Piggybank.ng) raised $1.1m in funding from almost exclusively Nigerian investors.

Prior to Push CV and PiggyBank, Odunayo worked on content and social media management at various tech platforms, including some of the big names – TechCabal and Techpoint, learning all she could about running a business, more importantly, a tech business.

PiggyVest now has over 200,000 users who it says, have saved over N1bn in January 2019 alone.

Odunayo made the World Women in Fintech Power List for 2017 and is a 2018 Westerwelle Young Entrepreneurs fellow. She’s also been named on YNaija’s Powerlist for Technology (2017 & 2018).

In 2019, she was one of 50 women in Tech Cabal’s Tech Women Lagos portrait series. She was also named in Forbes Africa‘s “20 New Wealth Creators” on the African continent list.

We celebrate Odunayo for her hard-work and for putting her ideas to work, delivering value to Nigerians, especially millennials like her.

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In self development By

#MONDAYMOTIVATION: 7 WAYS TO SAVE BETTER

Sometimes the hardest thing about saving money is just getting started. This step-by-step guide on how to save money can help you develop a simple and realistic plan to save for goals, big or small.

Record your expenses

The first step to saving money is to figure out how much you spend. Keep track of all your expenses—that means every coffee, household item and cash tip. Once you have your data, organize the numbers by categories, such as gas, groceries and mortgage, and total each amount. Consider using your credit card or bank statements to help you with this.

Make a budget

Once you have an idea of what you spend in a month, you can begin to organize your recorded expenses into a workable budget.  Your budget should outline how your expenses measure up to your income—so you can plan your spending and limit overspending. In addition to your monthly expenses, be sure to factor in expenses that occur regularly but not every month, such as car maintenance.

Plan on saving money

Now that you’ve made a budget, create a savings category within it. Try to save 10 to 15 percent of your income. If your expenses are so high that you can’t save that much, it might be time to cut back. To do so, identify nonessentials that you can spend less on, such as entertainment and dining out, and find ways to save on your fixed monthly expenses.

Tip: Consider the money you put into savings a regular expense, similar to groceries, to reinforce good savings habits.

Choose something to save for

One of the best ways to save money is to set a goal. Start by thinking of what you might want to save for—perhaps you’re getting married, planning a vacation or saving for retirement. Then figure out how much money you’ll need and how long it might take you to save it.

Here are some examples of short- and long-term goals:

Short-term (1–3 years)

– Emergency fund (3–9 months
of living expenses, just in case)

– Vacation

– Down payment for a car

Long-term (4+ years)

– Down payment on a home or a
remodeling project

– Your child’s education

– Retirement

If you’re saving for retirement or your child’s education, consider putting that money into an investment account such as an IRA or 529 plan. While investments come with risks and can lose money, they also create the opportunity for compounded returns if you plan for an event far in advance.

Decide on your priorities

After your expenses and income, your goals are likely to have the biggest impact on how you allocate your savings. Be sure to remember long-term goals—it’s important that planning for retirement doesn’t take a back seat to shorter-term needs. Learn how to prioritize your savings goals so you have a clear idea of where to start saving. For example, if you know you’re going to need to replace your car in the near future, you could start putting money away for one now.

Make saving automatic

Almost all banks offer automated transfers between your checking and savings accounts. You can choose when, how much and where to transfer money or even split your direct deposit so a portion of every paycheck goes directly into your savings account. Splitting your direct deposit and setting up automated transfers are simple ways to save money since you don’t have to think about it, and it generally reduces the temptation to spend the money instead.

Watch your savings grow

Review your budget and check your progress every month. Not only will this help you stick to your personal savings plan, but it also helps you identify and fix problems quickly. These simple ways to save may even inspire you to save more money every day and hit your goals faster.

 

Credit: Better Money Habit

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