afriCUBE FAQs

afriCUBE seeks to accommodate the needs and demands of the broadest possible swathe of small and medium Malawian enterprises and entrepreneurs. We will work with companies across a range of fields including but not limited to agriculture, wholesale & retail trade, manufacturing, services, energy production, healthcare, education, construction, ICT, education etc. We understand that SMEs and entrepreneurs are at different stages in their development and have different needs, therefore we have multiple initiatives which are outlined below.

Foster Lewis is a business and financial services consultancy firm situated in Lilongwe, Malawi that seeks to promote viable investment in private enterprises in Southern Africa. It has worked with a range of private and public sector stakeholders on economic cases in Malawi. With its unique financial and legal expertise, it ensures that projects, ventures, and businesses are investment ready.

Clicking on the log in button, any of the initiatives in the afriCUBE Malawi section, or the Register widget will automatically take you to the registration page. Here you can create a username and password while also filling out contact information for you and your business.

The afriCUBE Malawi page has different initiatives to meet the needs and demands of a wide variety of SMEs and entrepreneurs. Currently you can quickly identify your strengths and weaknesses using the Accelerator to help us match your business to capacity building initiatives, and post your investment opportunity for foreign and domestic investors through the Funder initiative.

If you complete the business profile and create a username and login it does not matter. Companies will have different needs so it is important to fill out the forms that are most relevant to your business.

It is recommended that micro enterprises first create a business profile and fill out the forms in the Activator track. High-growth potential micro enterprises with well-developed and tested prototypes should also check out the Accelerator. The accelerator forms highlight potential gaps and can help you focus your internal resources.

afriCUBE works in partnership with Foster Lewis, a business consulting firm based in Lilongwe, Malawi, which in turn provides project analysis and due diligence services to number of financial institutions and investors in Malawi and beyond. afriCUBE’s Funder forms are designed to capture the information necessary to pique the interest of a typical financial institution or investor prior to them conducting further project analysis and due diligence. Simply select the most appropriate form for your investment opportunity.

Accelerator is for businesses that are looking to better understand their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. It will also provide afriCUBE and our partners with a better understanding of your businesses operations as we rollout our capacity building and technical assistance services.

Scores are generated by the answers to the questions within each section. Answers are associated with a point value and they are aggregated by section. Lower scores mean that that particular area of operations is less developed. Note, however, that scores are indicative only.

Not from afriCUBE, but you may be able to get assistance from one of Foster Lewis’ forthcoming capacity building programmes. In the meantime, you may approach Foster Lewis directly at enquiries@fosterlewis.com.

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is a collection of 17 global goals set forth by the United Nations, with the hope to be completed by 2030. You can find out more about them here: https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/

The Malawi Growth and Development Strategy III (MGDS III) is the current development strategy set forth by the Malawian government. It is a five-year plan running from 2017 to 2022. Within the MGDS III, there are five Key Priority Areas (KPAs) that the Malawian government is targeting.

The Global Impact Investor Network (GIIN) created the Impact Reporting and Investment Standards (IRIS) metrics to help support impact measurement around the world. The IRIS database contains a large set of impact metrics that can be custom selected for a variety of investments. This was created in an effort to push some standardization of impact measurement.

afriCUBE.com serves as a platform to source potential project finance investments. It congregates the data of these investments and presents them to potential investors, who can quickly sort investments based upon different attributes. afriCUBE.com gives projects access to a network of investors, all through one form.

Yes, we will maintain contact via email. However, it is important to remember that requests may take time to process for end investors who are running complex funding initiatives. We will do our best to respond in a timely manner.

You may ask for as much funding as the project requires. However, it is important to be as explicit as possible in outlining the ways in which your business will spend its funds and what impact it will have on your business. Also, please be prepared to receive less funding from end investors than you may request and explore other funding strategies.

We are currently working on developing forms for end investors to source opportunities. If you are interested in learning more please contact us directly.