Investing or investment has become one of the smartest ways to grow money and make extra cash. With modern technology, there are so many platforms where people can easily invest, even with just small amounts of money. These platforms cover a wide range of needs, from stock and cryptocurrency buying to peer-to-peer lending and saving schemes.
The good thing about most of these platforms is that they are simple, accessible, and customised toward your financial objectives. In this article, we will learn more about investments, investment platforms, and their importance while exploring 15 of the best investment platforms available to Africans to make extra cash.
Key Points
- Investment is the process of using money or resources with the goal of making a profit or benefits over time.
- Investment platforms are the virtual places where an investor invests his money through different financial products.
- With the proper strategy, these platforms will let you grow your wealth and achieve your goals.
- By investing wisely, individuals and communities can share in economic progress and build personal wealth.
What is Investment?
Investment simply means putting your money in an asset to increase your money within a certain period. In other words, when one invests, you are putting money into something, like a business or even land, so it will increase and give you more money than what was invested.
Investment primarily deals with getting an extra source of income or making some profit out of the investment over a certain period. It can also be viewed as an investment of money, time, or effort into something, whether material or an asset which is not tangible, with expectations that it yields profits or an advantage in the future.
Investment is very important for the following reasons:
- Wealth Creation: Through investment, individuals, families, and the community at large increase their wealth over time.
- Future Security: Investment helps secure financial stability for the future, like saving for education, health emergencies, or even retirement.
- Economic Growth: When people invest in businesses, they grow such businesses, which at times may create jobs and improve living conditions.
The Key Elements of Investment include;
- Money or Resources: You need something to invest—usually money, but it can also be time, skills, or goods.
- An Opportunity or Asset: This might be the buying of land, business, stocks, or even a project. The goal is to find something that has the potential to grow in value.
- Risk: All investments do carry some degree of risk. This is the likelihood that things may not happen as expected, and instead of earning a profit, you incur a loss.
- Profit or Return: When an investment goes right, you start reaping profits, otherwise known as returns. This could be in the form of more money, dividends from shares, or increased value of property.
About Investment Platforms
With a young population, increasing internet access, and a growing middle class, there’s been a rise in various investment platforms designed to help Africans grow their wealth.
An Investment platform is an online service that allows investors to buy, sell, and manage a variety of investments. They can be a convenient way to keep track of investments, and can help investors spread risk by investing in different funds and asset classes.
In simple words, rather than letting your money sleep in a savings account, earning almost no interest, you could take that money and place it into several different investment opportunities through an investment platform and grow your wealth.
The main thing to remember is that investment platforms are built for DIY investors, so you’ll need to know your investment goals and understand the level of risks you can take.
Types of Investment Platforms
There are different types of investment platforms, but here are those you will likely come across:
- Stock Trading Platforms: These platforms deal in the trading of company shares that are listed on various stock exchanges. In Kenya, you can buy Safaricom shares, or you can buy Dangote Cement shares in Nigeria; or other publicly listed companies.
- Peer-to-Peer Lending Platforms (P2P): These platforms connect borrowers and investors. When you go to invest, you actually lend money to people or small businesses and receive interest by earning payment from them. A popular P2P platform in Africa is KiaKia in Nigeria.
- Real Estate Investment Platforms: You may have the interest to invest in real estate, but these usually are very, very expensive. Real estate platforms such as Estate Intel, assist users to invest in real estate properties with smaller amounts of money by joining their funds with other investors.
- Cryptocurrency Platforms: These are platforms where one can invest in digital currencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum. Although crypto investment is not safe because the prices change, platforms like Luno and Binance have made it accessible to Africans.
- Agricultural Investment Platforms: Agriculture is one of the biggest sectors in Africa. Platforms like Farmcrowdy and ThriveAgric will assist you in investing in farming projects to earn returns when the crops are harvested or the livestock sold.
These are what you should beware of:
- Risk: There’s always risk involved in investment. For instance, stock prices may fall, or a borrower may fail to pay back your loan. It’s important to understand the risks involved with each platform.
- Regulation: Most investment platforms aren’t regulated by any financial authorities. One has to make sure that you uses registered platforms following the local regulations for safeguarding your money.
- Fees: The transaction or management fees are charged by some of the platforms. One should always review the fee structure of the platform before investment.
15 Best Investment Platforms to Make Extra Cash
Whether you want to invest small or big, there are so many investment platforms where one can invest and make extra income. Here are 15 of the best investment platforms that you could use:
1. Bamboo
Bamboo is a leading investment platform that allows Africans to buy and sell U.S. stocks. It grants you access to international markets directly from your phone. You can begin investing with as low as $20 and trade in popular companies such as Apple, Google, and Tesla.
2. Chaka
Chaka is another platform that offers both local and global stocks. It provides access to Nigerian stocks and international markets, giving you wider choices. You could invest in any company involved in tech, finance, or health, among other fields.
3. Risevest
Risevest is a platform that enables one to invest in US stocks, real estate, and fixed income. It is designed to safeguard your money against inflation while earning returns in dollars. Setting up an investment plan, either short or long, is pretty easy with Risevest.
4. PiggyVest
PiggyVest is a savings and investment platform popularly used in Nigeria and several other African countries. It enables you to save and invest in low-risk opportunities. You can invest in agriculture, and real estate, among many others, while earning interest.
5. Wealth.ng
From stocks and mutual funds to agriculture and wealth.ng provides a wide range of investment options. For both beginners and seasoned investors, this is a great platform for those who want to explore different sectors and grow their portfolios.
6. Cowrywise
Cowrywise is a savings and investment app that gives access to mutual funds. It helps a person to save regularly for long-term investments. You can invest in mutual funds managed by pros for returns over time.
7. I-invest
I-invest enables retail investors to buy and manage Eurobonds, treasury bills and other fixed-income securities effortlessly. It is ideal for those who want to have safe investments but with a steady return. You can begin your investment with the minimum sum of N10,000.
8. ThriveAgric
With ThriveAgric, you can invest in agriculture. You get to earn returns on investment while helping farmers improve their business by funding farming projects. Agriculture makes up a big chunk of Africa’s economy, hence making this a solid investment opportunity.
9. Farmcrowdy
Another agriculture-focused platform is Farmcrowdy. On this platform, the investors are connected to farmers and get to invest in different agricultural ventures and then make profits on shares when the crops are harvested and sold.
10. Kuda Bank
Kuda Bank is an online bank in Nigeria that provides savings and investment opportunities. You can save money with it and earn while letting it grow your wealth safely and easily.
11. Trove
The Trove app gives access to U.S., Chinese, and Nigerian stocks. It is great for the diversification of investments through trading in various markets, one can start investing as low as ₦1,000 on Trove.
12. Carbon
Carbon is a platform for financial services offering personal loans, savings, and investment products. It offers an in-app feature, Carbon Invest, that allows you to invest your money in short-term opportunities and earn returns.
13. Fint
Fint is a platform for peer-to-peer lending. It connects borrowers with lenders and offers them the opportunity to lend money and earn interest. This platform will work for people seeking steady returns by lending out money to verified borrowers.
14. Payday Investor
The Payday Investor platform gives one access to invest in money market funds. If you want to invest in low-risk opportunities with higher returns than traditional savings accounts, then this platform is a great option.
15. eToro
eToro is a global trading platform that provides access to stocks, cryptocurrencies, commodities, and more. It is ideal for investors who want to trade on international markets. You can equally copy the trading strategy of top investors on the platform to easily achieve success.
There’s literally an investment platform for everything, from stocks and agriculture to peer-to-peer lending. But do your research and understand the risks first, whatever the case may be, before investing.
Importance of Investment Platforms
Investing through investment platforms comes with numerous advantages, the top being ease of use and saving time. Reasons why investment platforms are important include:
1. Accessibility to Financial Markets
Investment platforms have made access to financial markets easy, including stocks, bonds, real estate, and mutual funds. The investment opportunities are thus available on mobile phone apps and websites, even a person with limited capital can enter into global and domestic investment opportunities.
2. Wealth Creation and Financial Growth
Investment platforms provide people with wider possibilities of increasing their capital by investing in assets that bring higher returns in the long run, thus helping them reach their financial goals.
3. Job Creation and Economic Development
Whenever people and businesses invest in agriculture, technology, or manufacturing, for instance, they spur economic activities. This is one sure way of ensuring job creation. Investment platforms can facilitate this process by helping connect investors with promising startups or industries that need funding.
4. Empowering Entrepreneurs and Small Businesses
Investment platforms provide other options by allowing SME entrepreneurs to access funding from investors willing to take more risks. This, therefore, will increase business growth, innovation, and competitiveness in the markets to the benefit of consumers.
5. Diversification and Risk Management
The investment platforms encourage people to diversify their investments across multiple sectors, not being dependent on only one source of income. This can reduce the risks involved and provide better financial stability during periods of economic downturns or commodity price fluctuations.
6. Education and Financial Literacy
Many investment platforms support education on the subject, and it is easier today for people to learn about personal finance, how investments work, and how important saving for the future is. The ability of financial literacy will enable people to make informed choices, understand risks, and thus take responsibility for their financial future.
7. Technological Innovation
Most investment platforms have technology as the central role, where seamless transactions can be viewed transparently and updated in real-time regarding the performance of investments. This builds trust among investors and lowers the chances of fraud or mismanagement, which is a concern in some parts of Africa.
8. Supporting Sustainable Development
Most investment platforms focus on socially responsible investment, where investors can decide to fund projects or businesses that align with sustainability goals. A case in point could be observed in Africa, where renewable energy, agriculture, and infrastructure development hold the key towards combating some very critical issues.
9. Attracting Foreign Investments
Investment platforms not only attract local investors but also foreign investors looking to exploit the growing markets of Africa. Such an inflow of foreign capital can stimulate growth, enhance infrastructure, and create opportunities for partnerships between local and international businesses.
By and large, the benefits of using the services of an investment platform lies in the accessibility and efficiency of investables which it provides an investor.
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Conclusion
Investment is surely one of the most viable routes towards earning extra cash and with several new platforms now across Africa, it requires just a bit of money to start you off. Different platforms address a number of needs, from buying stocks and digital currencies to peer-to-peer lending and saving schemes. As always, do your research and understand the risk involved before investing. If you have the right strategy in place, it can be very instrumental in growing your wealth to achieve those financial goals.
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