Investment Capital Loan

Action Invest loans

The purpose with the ActionInvest is to offer investment capital to facilitate social enterprising start- and scale-up.

  1. Social entrepreneurs are offered loans with a 10 % annual interest, or 14% for a 6 month loan.
  2. Each project starts small and scales firmly.
    The first loan is usually around € 1,000, and a second twice the amount. Usually, the total loan for each project is € 15,000.
  3. The pay-back is made per week or per month.
  4. The business must generate income already.
  5. Guarantees can be arranged through two guarantors, for example employed persons with salary.
  6. A secured accountability management programme is required.
    i) Active participation in RISEtalks
    ii) Branding and public relations within the targeted community.
    iii) Special accountability management package designed by HR&S Country Branch.
  7. The partnership agreement is based on mile-stones, after each milestone has been achieved, new loans are made possible. Moreover, further loans are only granted if the business is well managed according to periodical bank accounts statements, programme achievement surveys, as well as auditing reports.
  8. The funds are paid back within a period of one to three years.
    After maybe three years the company shall be self-sustained.
  9.  The loans are always combined with coaching targeting evaluation planning, impact survey management, branding & public relations and accounting as well as annual external auditing. The interest from the programme is used to co-fund programme coaching and auditing.
  10. Each new loan is prepared benefiting from an ambitious loan-taker agreement, where the special conditions of the loan-taker are paid attention to.
    HR&S aims to reach the under-served population, either as social entrepreneurs, customers of social entrepreneurs or beneficiaries of scientific research and innovations.

     

Eligibility Criteria

1. Your business MUST be post-revenue. RISEinvest fund does not fund businesses at the idea stage.
2. You must demonstrate a track record of cash flows.
3. You will be requested to attach documented proof for the claims you make about your business.

unsplash - investment capital

The ActionInvest is managed by Action10 and HR&S together.

As a result of that HR&S is reaching out to the under-served populations and is operating in aid prone the risk with giving out loans is high.
The high risk is addressed by
i) Much effort is put into coaching and controlling.
The 10% interest is contributing to this cost, but cannot cover the costs fully. The coaches and auditors are reimbursed a minimum annual amount of Euro 300.
ii) The investment capital is generated through donations.

Profit is kept by the entrepreneur to cover the running costs of the company.

The paid back capital is always re-invested in order to: i) scale-up a business within an on-going partnership, ii) start a new business with the same partner or, iii) start- or scale up a new business with a new partner.

HR&S level of interaction approach:
We do not do micro-management but
i) management sharing salaries must be fair and
ii) the costs must be reasonable in relation to the income.

Eligible costs

The HR&S/Action10’s loan can be used for to:

  • Identify and test a hypothesis about the market / customer benefit, estimate what resources and activities are required to take the company to the next level.
  • Develop and test prototypes.
  • Develop strategies to protect the company’s new idea or project. (The costs of applying for a patent are not eligible.)
  • Try different channels to reach potential customers, financiers, partners, networks, competencies.
  • Build a relationship with potential customers and partners.
  • Identify and test strengths and weaknesses regarding validation, verification and development of the business.

Eligible costs

The loan can be used to cover:

  • Personnel costs and costs for consultants and licenses.
  • Depreciation costs for instruments, equipment and buildings that are relevant to the project during the project period.
  • Costs for materials, travel expenses and the like.

Prerequisites for a cost to be eligible are that it must, among other things:

  • Be factual and verifiable.
  • Have arisen at the applicant company.
  • Have arisen during the project period.
  • Be determined in accordance with the company’s usual accounting principles and good accounting practice.
  • Be reasonable and have arisen solely for the implementation of the project.
  • Be in accordance with the applicant company’s internal policies and guidelines, including social good, sustainability, equity, environmental and climate impacts.
IMG_4929

Applying for a loan

Start- and scale-up lones are offered in countries with HR&S RISE Centres.

  1. To be eligible for applying for a loan the loan seeker has to go attend HR&S webinars.
  2. Loan taker contract.
    Develop and sign loan-taker agreement and start a loan taker scheme.
  3. RISE member.
    Become a RISE Centre member and pay membership fee.

We seek social entrepreneurs, not business managers, thus the motivation must be the social good and not the generation of money.
We seek social entrepreneurs who understand that this is a loan and not a donation, and the HR&S is in itself a social enterprise and not an aid organisation, and thus also has costs to pay.
We seek social entrepreneurs who appreciate cross-cultural equal partnership.

unsplash - budget

Assessment of loan applications

  • Applications that meet all of the formal requirements are reviewed. We take credit information on companies that are relevant for financing, including any partner and affiliated companies.
    The application is assessed on the basis of the assessment criteria below to identify which projects have the greatest potential and are in need of funding.
    The assessent is based on to which extent:

Relevance

  • The application credibly shows that the HR&S/A10 loan is used to validate, verify and develop the business and the solution the business is based on.
  • HR&S/A10 loa plays a decisive role in the implementation of the project

Potential

  • The application credibly justifies why and how the business idea and solution is innovative or significantly better than existing business ideas/solutions in the area and in the relevant market.
  • The application shows that the business concept and the solution meet a need/demand in the market and that the business concept is scalable.
  • The application clearly shows that the company has intangible assets that give it an edge over its competitors.

Implementation

  • The application clearly shows that the budget, plan and approach to the project are relevant in relation to the project’s objectives, for example whether staff costs, consulting fees or indirect costs are reasonable (not too high or too low).
  • The application clearly shows that the company plans to reach and engage customers, users, financiers and partners in the work and how the company will retain these after the project is implemented.

Team

  • The application clearly shows that the company has the skills, experience, network and resources needed to implement the development the company is seeking money for.
P1000157

Sustainability

  • The application shows that the company makes a positive contribution to the UN’s sustainability goals in Agenda 2030.
  • The application shows that the company strives to increase its positive effects and minimize its negative effects from a sustainability perspective.

Equality

  • The application shows that the company has argued for the relevance of gender and/or gender perspective linked to the company’s area of activity and / or solution.
  • The application credibly and convincingly demonstrates an awareness of gender equality within the team and in the distribution of key positions within the company.

Conditions

Loan taker

Loan takers benefit from programme specific coaching (evaluation planning, survey management, accounting and public relations) and  external auditing. Each loan-taker signs a loan and coaching contract with HR&S.

The loans are paid back with 10% annual interest.
The loan-taker also pays a fee for local coaching that is 10% annually.

The funds are usually paid back within a period of one to three years. When one loan has been paid back, another larger loan can be given. The partnership agreement is based on mile-stones, after each milestone has been achieve, funds are paid back with interest and new loans are made possible.

The loan taker provides a guarantee that is reasonable according to the context. The guarantee can be an asset, a cooperative approach or a social structure combined with a control network. If funds are not paid back as agreed then a programme specific consequence will take place, which has been jointly agreed on between the parties while signing the contract.

Each project starts small and scales firmly. The first loan  shall be small, around € 1,000, and a second loan twice as big. Usually the total loan for each project is € 15,000. Further loans are only granted if the business is well managed according to periodical bank accounts statements, surveys, coaching, programme, and auditing reports, and when certain pre-agreed on milestones have been achieved.

Loan-takers are members of the RISE Centre and thus have access to also other supportive activities. These are paid for through membership fees.

Loan management

The RISEinvest and ActionInvest programme is managed locally by the HR&S RISE Support Centres. Loans are given out with 10 % interest. The loans are combined with coaching.

The capital is generated through fundraising campaigns targeting crowdfunding, monthly givers and major givers. The targeted fund level is euro 15,000 per project. When the target amount for a certain fundraising campaign has been reached, then the fundraising for that programme ends. The RISEinvest and ActionInvest fund is then expected to manage the business until it can be managed by itself. Thereafter the same capital is used to support another social enterprising start- or scale-up.

The interest shall pay the loan administration cost (bank fee, mobile money fee, travel, visits, internet, computers etc.)
The coaching fee of 10 % shall pay programme specific coaching cost (evaluation planning, survey management, accounting and public relations) and external auditing. Coaches and auditors are assigned by the RISE Centre  and HR&S Sweden together. Coaches and auditors are reimbursed euro 300 per year and programme. When the capital has reached euro 15,000 per project, the 10 % fee will cover the full reimbursement of the coaches; euro 1,500 per year.

Funds are transferred to and kept at a local RISE Centre bank account and shall be paid back to the RISE Centre account without exception.

1 % of transferred fund is saved in an emercency fund, which shall be used for emergency health care support to team members when agreed on by RISE management and HR&S.

Euro 400 per year of the transferred funds shall be invested in satellite internet connection at the RISE Centre ( f. ex Econet), if the comminucation otherwise is limited.

The accountability management includes monthly bookkeeping with bank account statements, internal control, annual reports and yearly auditing.

Each RISE Centre can run several parallel RISEinvest and ActionInvest units.

RISE invest

The RISEinvest fund is managed by HR&S.

The capital for the RISE invest funds is raised through crowd-funding and major givers.

HR&S charges 20 % of the raised funds, the crowdfunding platform some % and the Swedish Government 25 % in tax.

Action Invest

The Action Invest fund is managed by Action10; www.Action10.org.

The capital for the ActionInvest fund is raised through the Crowd-funding platform “Global giving”, Action10 monthly givers and other donations.

3 % of the raised funds remains in Sweden to cover the cost related to bank account and website and 97 % is trasferred to our partners in Sub-Sahara Africa.

Global giving is an active and professional platform and charges 12 % of the raised funds.