Months after securing a fund management license from the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Volition Cap, an asset management company empowering the hardworking middle class to create wealth, has announced that it will be rolling out its app with which it intends to drive adoption of its products.
In an exclusive chat with Technext, CEO of Volition Cap, Subomi Plumptre, said the newly-minted investment fund will be looking to not only offer its cooperative business and investments, but is also looking to launch an app alongside a suite of new products.
We have developed a proprietary app to distribute products to Africans and Diasporans. This will be rolled out alongside our products.
Subomi Plumptre
She said by leveraging technology to distribute products, the company will reduce the cost of investment services and the challenge of easy access. Along the credibility and trust that an SEC license confers, she’s optimistic that the home-grown business is poised to scale its bespoke products across Africa and the Diaspora.
Volition Cap’s SEC license and what it means
This new SEC license allows Volition Cap to operate as a registered fund manager in Nigeria, as it prepares to launch a suite of retail and institutional investment products for Africans living on the continent and in the Diaspora.
In the chat with Technext, Subomi Plumptre noted that the new license was part of a broader strategy to create a global ventures and finance ecosystem for Africans and Diasporans.
She noted that although the company is truly passionate about middle-class wealth, they understand that to close the gaps that currently exist, many entities must work together.
And that’s why in our ecosystem, we have a cooperative, an asset management company, a global fund and an international launchpad for African entrepreneurs. These are all complimentary but independent structures working towards a single goal – middle class prosperity for Africans and Diasporans.
Subomi Plumptre
“Our company was founded by entrepreneurs who truly understand the daily struggles of the middle class. From our operation’s inception, we have focused on empowering this group to attain financial success. The SEC license is a significant milestone for us as we introduce retail and institutional products to drive economic growth”, she added.
Although she refused to say, it is possible that the new license might have arisen due to pressures from the SEC on the cooperative to obtain a license to properly operate as an investment entity given the circumstances that emerged with the recent disappointments it encountered in its past investment activities especially in 2020.
In Nigeria, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is the regulator vested with the licensing and regulatory supervision over all investment companies or investment advisers. It, therefore, presupposes that any individual or company who wishes to engage in the provision of investment advisory services must register with the Corporate Affairs Commission and obtain an operational license from the SEC.
If this argument is true, then, the licence gives the company the needed backing, regulation and supervision to operate as a fund manager and investment advisory firm, which goes beyond the Cooperative business that it is known for.
Volition Cap’s next moves
According to the African Development Bank, Africa’s middle class has grown to 34% over the past three decades, compared to the shrinking average of 60% and 50% in Europe and America, respectively. However, according to a 2019 report on ‘The Investment Potential of Nigeria’s Middle Class’, despite their growing wealth, the majority of the liquid assets of this socio-economic class are primarily held in bank savings and deposits, leaving a vast gap for economic empowerment in developing countries.
Founded in 2018, Volition Cap is a game-changing assets manager that leverages traditional cooperatives, a model it created through Volition Cooperative, a licensed multi-purpose cooperative making investing stress-free for its members.
On the strategy behind the new sojourn into the real estate and Agricultural sector, Plumptre told Technext that “agriculture and real estate are critical to middle-class wealth. Africa has a housing shortage and food deficit. Therefore, there is no sustainable prosperity for the continent without championing investments in those two sectors.“
In addition to standard products, the company enables working professionals in the diaspora to transform remittances into investments, and not just gifts, so they can sustainably finance family upkeep back home and acquire local assets.
Volition Cap also provides services for HNIs and institutional investors, including fund and treasury management, business investment advisory, and individual or family investment plans. Moreover, Its experts have trained over 10,000 individuals on investment literacy.
Subomi, who was also recently joined the Forbes Business Council in February and was recently nominated to the constellation network of the Global Institute for Evolutionary Women (GIFEW), says the recognition and network would offer a new perspective to her role for the company.
Being a Forbes Business Council member provides a global network and perspective that I can bring to bear on Volition’s operations.
Subomi Plumptre,
With a strong track record of success, the fund investment cooperative has designed and managed a 3,000-member African cooperative, which led to contributors achieving a financial independence rate of up to 75% within three years. The firm has also developed a $30 million private equity fund for agriculture and real estate projects in Africa and disbursed over $250,000 to support local filmmakers through its entertainment and media fund.
On if there are currently plans for the low-income earners in the country, Subomi noted that the cooperative is currently providing business support and investment education for individuals, which they believe form a foundation for wealth creation. She says:
Yes, we currently operate a social enterprise model in our cooperative. We also provide business support and investment education. For instance, 5,000 individuals have taken our comprehensive investment course for free. Our desire is to teach people to fish, instead of just giving them fish. That is more sustainable.
Technext Newsletter
Get the best of Africa’s daily tech to your inbox – first thing every morning.
Join the community now!
