What is the name of your organization?
Franc
What is the name of your solution?
Franc Investment App
Provide a one-line summary or tagline for your solution.
Easiest way to build wealth by having access to the best savings and investment funds without minimums or restrictions.
In what city, town, or region is your solution team headquartered?
Johannesburg, South Africa
In what country is your solution team headquartered?
South Africa
What type of organization is your solution team?
For-profit, including B-Corp or similar models
Film your elevator pitch.
What specific problem are you solving?
In South Africa, the latest reported Household Saving Rate is -0.9%, which means that South Africans are spending more than they save. This is coupled with the fact that only 6% of the population are on track to retire comfortably, according to the 2023 10X Retirement Reality Report.
The biggest barriers to investing are the minimum deposit requirements and the complexity of investing, given the very low levels of financial literacy.
In South Africa, 76% of employed South Africans currently save in informal savings vehicles like cash, stokvels, grocery schemes or burial schemes, with only 10% of South Africans investing (according to the Old Mutual Savings and Investment Monitor).
The majority of people just don't know where to start. Yet African ranks top in the world for search terms relating to investing. In South Africa alone, it is estimated that $15bn sitting idle in current accounts (cash equivalents) not earning in any interest.
What is your solution?
Franc is the easiest way to build wealth, whether you're saving for yourself, your business, your children or with family and friends. Franc offers a savings account, unlimited investment goals, tax-free savings and a retirement annuity. Franc gives free goal-based investment advice and access to the best funds in the market without minimums or restrictions.
Users can deposit as much as they want and access their money when they want, available 24/7 through our mobile and web app. No paperwork, no fine print. It’s investing as it should be. Set up once - to save in money market funds and invest in local and offshore index-tracking ETFs - then invest on autopilot. All for just a 1% all-in fee.
As a leading saving and investment platform, we acknowledge that many South Africans experience 'paralysis-analysis' with regards to growing their money, because of a lack of knowledge. We launched the Franc Academy (https://learn.franc.app) to educate users bit-seized lessons and fun quizzes with certificates to encourage users to learn more about personal finance. Additionally, we also have our Francly Speaking blog and podcast, where we regularly share money-related matters.
Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?
Franc’s social impact is empowering first time investors, particularly young women, to build wealth. Key metrics that we track are the number of female investors on the platform (currently 59%, compared with 30-40% in the industry), the proportion of first time investors (currently 85%, where 90% of South Africans currently don’t invest) and the average annual portfolio return (currently 10.3% APY, where most savers are getting less than 1% in bank savings accounts).
