How a $250 Investment from Giving Desk is Jump-starting a POS & ATM Business in Lagos

After graduation, Joseph Awotunde thought of how he might earn a living while seeking employment. Then, he had an idea. This idea would later be named Truth Ventures Enterprise. TVE encourages easy financial transactions in Nigeria. He also decided to add sales of second-hand safety shoes to his operation near his systems in order to ease the stress of long quests on foot and also to put a smile on his customers’ faces.
A few weeks ago, we discovered Joseph’s startup through our network of Giving Desk micro-investing scouts. To jumpstart his company, Joseph needed $250 to cover his expenses to launch the first POS system which also serves as a micro-ATM. It can be difficult to fund a startup idea in Nigeria, especially when you’re a fresh graduate.
Joseph works alone, although he looks forward to expanding his business in the near future. He hopes to kickstart his business within the next couple of weeks. He plans to use the funding to help cover his expenses to acquire an umbrella, a chair, table, the initial POS machine.
Joseph’s not alone. He’s among millions of young people throughout developing countries in Africa who have struggled to secure funding in an environment where credit cards can often be inaccessible and micro-financing schemes can be extremely predatory. As more corporations shift their corporate responsibility strategies from charity donations (that can create unsustainable reliance) and begin to transition toward impact micro-investing in small business ecosystems, sustainable economic change is possible not only for Joseph but for thousands of communities in developing countries around the world.