Don't invest unless you're prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high - risk investment and you are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong. 

Risk Information

Estimated reading time: 2 min

Due to the potential for losses, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) considers this investment to be high risk.

What are the key risks?

  1. 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 100% of your money. Most start-up and early-stage businesses fail.
    • 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 money than expected. A higher advertised rate of return means a higher risk of losing your money. If it looks too good to be true, it probably is.
    • Certain of these investments can be 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 returns will be tax free.
    • Checks on the businesses you are investing in, such as how well they are expected to perform, may not have been carried out by the platform you are investing through. You should do your own research before investing.
  2. You won't get your money back quickly
    • Many bonds last for several years, so you should be prepared to wait for your money to be returned even if the business you’re investing in repays on time.
    • You are unlikely to be able to cash in your investment early by selling your bond. You are usually locked in until the business has paid you back over the period agreed.
    • The platform does not offer a secondary market. While another investor may be interested in buying your investment, there is no guarantee you will find a buyer at the price you are willing to sell.
  3. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket
    • 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.
  4. You are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong
    • Protection from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), in relation to claims against failed regulated firms, does not cover poor investment performance. Try the FSCS investment protection checker here.
    • Protection from the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) does not cover poor investment performance. If you have a complaint against an FCA-regulated platform, FOS may be able to consider it. Learn more about FOS protection here.

If you are interested in learning more about how to protect yourself, visit the FCA’s website here.

For further information about investment-based crowdfunding, visit the FCA’s website here.

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SOCIAL IMPACT CALCULATIONS

The calculations displayed on our website and in your portfolio are estimates, based on calculations from the Global Off-Grid Lighting Alliance’s (GOGLA) Standardised Impact Metrics for the Off-Grid Solar Energy Sector (V4, April 2020). While the technology required to report real-time data from the various solar home systems and other clean energy installations financed through Energise Africa exists, the companies we work with use a variety of monitoring systems and we have therefore opted to go with the standardised approach developed by GOGLA.


The linked document provides an in-depth explanation of how these metrics have been developed, and how they can be used by different stakeholders within the sector, so if you are interested to learn more, please do visit GOGLA’s website or download their guidance on the standard impact metrics here.


In building our impact calculations for the information provided in your portfolio environment and across our website as a whole, we have made the following assumptions (alongside those indicated in the GOGLA guidance):


People having improved opportunities and livelihoods

We assume that there is an average of five people per household in the areas where our portfolio companies operate. Therefore, for each solar home system financed by investments made on Energise Africa, we calculate that five people have benefitted from improved energy access.


The figure in your portfolio is calculated by multiplying the number of systems that your investment has funded by an average 5 people per household (rounded up to the nearest whole number).


CO2 emissions prevented from entering the atmosphere

We assume that from the point that funds are disbursed to the company, it will take an average of six months for them to order, receive and distribute the solar home systems to households. We also assume that each solar home system comes with a two year warranty (as per the information provided by our portfolio companies) and that each solar home system therefore has a typical lifespan of 3 years. (Note that depending on usage and maintenance, this could be much longer in reality.)


We assume that each solar home system will typically replace one kerosene lantern, though in reality, larger systems may replace more lanterns, and some systems will be a replacement or an upgrade on an existing solar home system.


We work with GOGLA’s figure of 0.431 metric tons of carbon dioxide and black carbon emissions produced per kerosene lantern per year.


Hours of quality light

We assume that a solar home system is typically used for 350 days a year, to provide between 1.3 and 2.3 extra hours of light per day. This figure is aggregated across all the solar home system related investments in your portfolio.

Investing on energiseafrica.com involves risk, including the loss of all of your capital, illiquidity (the inability to sell assets quickly or without substantial loss in value), and it should be done only as part of a diversified portfolio.

Never invest more than you can afford to lose and never make investment with borrowed monies. Investment opportunities on this platform are targeted solely at investors who understand these risks and for whom such investments are suitable. Lendahand Ethex Ltd does not give investment advice or recommendations regarding investment opportunities, and any investment decision must be made only on the basis of all of the information provided by the issuer for that investment opportunity, including (without limitation) the relevant Investment Memorandum (IM) that is available to registered members of the platform. Please read the Risks section of our site to learn more about the risks associated with the products offered on this platform.

The investment opportunities on energiseafrica.com are not an offer to the public in any jurisdiction and are available only to registered members of the platform who have certified that they are eligible to invest. Any person who is not resident in the United Kingdom who wishes to view these investment opportunities must first satisfy themselves that they are eligible to do so under the securities laws and regulations applicable to them. This site does not constitute an offer of, or the solicitation of an offer to buy or subscribe for, any securities to any person in any jurisdiction to whom or in which such offer or solicitation would be unlawful.

In respect of its regulated activities, Lendahand Ethex Ltd trading as Energise Africa (FRN 776908) is an appointed representative of Share In Ltd (FRN 603332), which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.