Plug and Play is thrilled to announce its new investment in Raise, a full-stack equity platform that helps African startups design their corporate equity from launch to liquidity. Raise has helped thousands of entrepreneurs, lawyers, and investors in the African technology ecosystem build ownership plans for their employees, structure preferred shared financings, and audit their corporate structures.

The company has just launched a new product line called raise.africa, powered by Raise Core and Labs. Raise Core is an equity solution platform that helps companies organize their corporate structure, raise capital and reward talent with stock options. Everything is plugged into African law, finance, and equity valuations across three markets and growing.

Its value proposition centers on revolutionizing the African equity landscape, encompassing everything from liquidity to management. Customers on the core product get access to Raise Labs, a decentralized financial experimental lab that helps companies build and release liquidity programs for secondaries and stock option financing.

This investment is yet another testament to Raise's potential to shape the future of African equity ownership for startup teams, shareholders, and employees. By leveraging the latest digital technologies and innovative solutions, Raise is helping streamline the fundraising process for startups, founders, investors, and law firms, making it faster, cheaper, and more efficient than ever before.

What makes the team unique?

One of the platform's unique strengths is its all-African team, with extensive knowledge and experience in legal compliance, regulation, and free trade across Africa's 54 borders. The team has been active in African tech, financing, and securities for decades, with an impressive track record of executing major deals worth over $1B across the continent. They have also played a crucial role in 100+ venture capital and equity transactions.

In essence, Raise has a team with a wealth of knowledge, skills, and experience to navigate the intricacies of equity management in Africa across multiple corporate structures.

Competitive advantage

Its laser focus on African startups, entrepreneurs, and investors' unique needs sets Raise apart from its competitors. While similar tools are available in other markets, none quite meet the specific demands of the African startup ecosystem. This has created a gap in the market that Raise is successfully filling. The platform simplifies the traditionally complex processes involved in equity management, seed rounds, and legal compliance through innovative digital solutions. Not only saving time and money for startups and investors, but also ensuring they have the resources they need to thrive in an increasingly competitive market.

Why we're excited to invest

Investing in Raise is an exciting opportunity to support the growth of African startups. The platform has already proven successful, with its solutions helping African startups close deals twice as fast for a third of the cost.

Beyond its immediate benefits, Raise's vision to create the future of African equity, from launch to liquidity, highlights its long-term commitment to supporting startups and ensuring a thriving ecosystem for entrepreneurs across the region. With its proven track record, long-term vision, and unique value proposition, Raise is well-positioned to drive a new era of digital fundraising solutions that will revolutionize the African startup ecosystem.