What is the legal status of my investment?
When you choose to invest into a particular project that is listed on the Energise Africa platform you are issued with a bond (or promissory note) by a company (the Bond Issuer). These bonds and notes are unlisted and may also be unsecured. Investment into unsecured bonds, which are not listed on a public market, is riskier than unlisted debentures as there is no tangible property provided as security for investors. By investing in an unsecured bond, you are lending your money to a business, with all the risks that this involves. These include the fact that the Bond Issuer is not subject to stock market requirements to make information affecting the price or value of the investment publicly available, therefore, you cannot choose to sell your bond if you want based on price fluctuations. It is also difficult to get out of the investment early. Unsecured bonds are ‘fixed interest’ investments. This means that the interest rate on the money you lend is set in advance. However, interest payments on your money and the return of your capital are not guaranteed and depend on the ongoing success of the Bond Issuer’s business model. Investors need to be aware that investments of this kind suffer from a lack of liquidity and that capital is at risk. In a worst case scenario, you may lose all (but not more than) the total amount invested.
What happens to my investment if the families and businesses are unable to pay monies to the bond issuer?
The Bond Issuer of your investment will provide credit to families or businesses, depending on the nature of the business in the project's target country with repayments made periodically. Credit is typically spread across a large number of individuals and businesses and default (non-payment) rates are generally low. However, in an instance where a large number of individuals or business customers default on their payments to the Bond Issuer, this may have an impact on their ability to repay your interest or capital in part or in full.
What are the risks if I invest in Companies who provide loans to households & businesses in Sub Saharan Africa?
By definition emerging market economies have potential for growth. Nonetheless, the threat of economic downturn due to the factors outlined below are a possibility, which investors should consider before making any investment. The companies listed for investment on www.energiseafrica.com have their main operations in Sub Saharan Africa hence investors have to consider the impact of changes in the political climate in the countries in which the Companies (Bond Issuers) are operating. Elections often have a strong impact on the economic stability of a country and significant changes could create issues for foreign investors especially as new regimes might close the door or making repatriation of funds difficult/impossible. Political instability could have a very strong impact on economic stability, the judicial system, stability of the financial markets and institutions, and other similar factors. Such risks are difficult to assess but could have a detrimental effect on investment returns. Corruption in many emerging markets, may be more prevalent than in developed markets. In some cases, it’s rooted in cultural differences and thus strongly influential in people’s way of life. Corruption could affect a business’s ability to present fair financial statements. It may add costs that are hard to predict or manage. It could make doing business difficult and make contracts void in court. Natural disasters tend to occur more regularly and/or the effects have a more profound impact due to a lack of emergency (government) responsiveness or general infrastructure, than is the case in developed nations and can have a profound impact on local economies and communities. Investors should consider that a natural disaster (such as flood, drought or famine) may have severe impact on the ability of local people to make monthly payments to the Bond Issuer, which could have a knock-on impact on the Bond Issuer’s ability to make capital and/or interest payments to them.
Due to political regime change and/or other economic factors, emerging market countries may present a higher potential for the outbreak of conflict or other types of social instability. The displacement of local populations as a result of war or unrest may affect their ability to continue regular payments to Bond Issuers.
Further information regarding all identifiable risks
associated with a project are outlined in the relevant offer document, which an
investor should read in full before making a decision to invest.
How does Energise Africa minimise the risks?
Lendahand Ethex Ltd trading as Energise Africa ("Energise Africa") has a strict set of criteria
for all Bond Issuers listed on the platform. Every Issuer must also hold to our
social mission and work with us to supply solar systems to African households as cheaply
as possible. This ensures that more local people wishing to own and install their own
solar equipment can afford to do so. An Issuer must also have a
'track record'; they must already have an established presence in their target markets. This means for instance a solid
credit portfolio and enough buffers and equity to compensate for unexpected
downturns. Energise Africa also checks the organisational structure of
the Issuer and how robust their internal procedures are. Finally, the loans
that an Issuer receives via Energise Africa must be in proportion to
their total balance sheet. Where indicated on an offer, UK aid will be investing alongside the crowd and may provide first loss on their investment ahead of other investors. Where this is the case it will be clearly stated on the offer page.
Is my investment covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) or Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS)?
No, you are investing in the
unsecured debt of the Issuer, which is not covered by the FSCS. Investors should be aware that their capital
is at risk which means that you may lose some or all of the money that you invest. If an Issuer is unable to
fulfil the terms of the bond instrument there is no right to complain to the
FOS or to get compensation from FSCS.
Is the return on my investment guaranteed?
No, you could lose all the money you invest. If the business you are investing in fails, there is a high risk that you will lose all your money. Advertised rates of return aren't guaranteed. This is not a savings account. If the borrower doesn't pay you back as agreed, you could earn less than expected. These investments are sometimes held in an Innovative Finance ISA (IFISA). An IFISA does not reduce the risk of the investment or protect you from losses, so you can still lose all your money. It only means that any potential gains from your investment will be tax free.
You should familiarise yourself with all risks outlined in this section
of the website and in the relevant offer document for any project you wish to
invest in. You should never invest more than you can afford to lose and you
should never invest money you have borrowed.
Is Energise Africa regulated by the FCA?
Energise Africa is an appointed representative of Share In Ltd, which is
authorised and regulated by the FCA (FRN 603332).
Is my investment subject to any exchange rate risk?
Bond Issuers bear the exchange rate risks. Your
bond is settled in Sterling, and the return of your capital and interest payments are
also made in Sterling. However, you should
consider that the Issuer of your bond has revenue streams in local currency in
the emerging market countries in which they operate. Major depreciation of this local currency
against pounds sterling may have significant impact on the day-to-day operation
of the Issuer and may affect their ability to repay your capital and/or interest
in part or full.
What happens if a Bond Issuer goes bankrupt?
If a Bond Issuer goes bankrupt, there will be a chance that you lose part or all of the amount you invested. Energise Africa will make every attempt to recover outstanding payments, but the success rate cannot be guaranteed in such situations. Investors have no right to take action against the Issuer or Energise Africa. Putting all your money into a single business or type of investment for example, is risky. Spreading your money across different investments makes you less dependent on any one to do well. A good rule of thumb is not to invest more than 10% of your money in high-risk investments.
What happens with my money if Energise Africa goes bankrupt?
If Energise Africa were to go bankrupt, trades between Energise Africa and ShareIn would cease immediately (ShareIn are a party that holds client monies in segregated accounts in connection with any investment made). ShareIn would then transfer the funds from your personal wallet to your bank account (Note: if at this time the project you have invested in has been fully funded and the money has already been transferred to the Issuer, these funds will not be transferred back to your bank account). ShareIn would then, in consultation with a trustee, handle all repayments between the investors and investees up until the final repayment of the last project has taken place.
Should
Energise Africa go bankrupt, in order to prevent investors from losing
their money, the notes/bonds are held in a segregated Collective Depot (or securities account) that is
administered by Hands-On BV as allowed by the Dutch Financial
Authority (AFM) under their license. The note/bond holders are the owners
of this depot. This is a clear segregation from the assets of the Hands-On BV. The flow
of money is also segregated, namely via ShareIn with the client money account. There is also some operational risk at Energise Africa. For
example, Ethex, Hands-On BV, or both businesses may not be able to generate
sufficient income or investment to finance their activities, which could
jeopardise this joint venture between the two organisations. In that case
Energise Africa will handle outstanding loans as well as possible, but
the influence to handle non-repayment by an Issuer legally ceases in this
scenario.
What happens if ShareIn goes bankrupt?
ShareIn are a party that holds client monies in segregated accounts in connection with any investments made. This includes the taking into receipt the Purchase Price for the Issuer and the receiving and payment of interest and Redemption to you by the Issuer. As part of your
registration with the platform a segregated investor ‘wallet’ is created with
ShareIn. Any investor funds held on this
wallet are segregated from monies belonging to ShareIn, Energise Africa or any other related party, and will be returned to your nominated bank
account should ShareIn cease their operations.
For invested monies not held in your ‘wallet’ Energise Africa
will make alternative arrangements for the return of your capital and/or
interest from the Issuer to your nominated bank account.
Why is my money going to ShareIn?
ShareIn offer a seamless end-to-end solution, including KYC (Know Your Client) and anti-money laundering management, as well as the ability to hold monies from each investor in a segregated ‘wallet’. This means your money is safe and secure in your own personal ‘wallet’.