Afterfund

There are over 800 million Muslims who are unbanked in the world and 35% of the 2 billion people in the world facing poverty are in Muslim-majority countries. For the unbanked, the issue can be linked to an Islamic prohibition against interest, which severely limits Muslim access to capital. These circumstances make it difficult for individuals to pull themselves from impoverished conditions.

Long-term funding for this problem is available but is untapped. Muslim Millennials lack options to donate for continuous impact beyond mosques  and water wells. Donation platforms today spend the donation when they receive it, and that’s where the impact stops--something generally unappealing to the Millennial generation. Currently, this generation of Muslims, now inheriting billions, has very limited digital platforms to create long-term funding. 

Afterfund is a digital platform where all donations are continuously multiplied through halal investing and profits support causes selected by our donors. By multiplying donations through investing, a single donation can make a 39x bigger impact over an average lifetime. 

The solution creates sustainable funding for those in need. At the same time, it connects Millennial Muslims to impact-focused, long-term causes that they are seeking out. 

This solution targets Muslims that roughly fall into three groups: donors, those in need, and the charities that serve them. Donors get continuous impact with a single donation. Those in need get financial assistance through halal financing mechanisms. Charities get sustainable funding for their projects to help those in need. 

We are Muslim Millennials ourselves and we wanted to donate in a way that will continuously make an impact even after we die. Omar is a child of immigrants who has been deeply involved with the Muslim community and its charitable efforts in the Global South, including those in India and Bangladesh through is family. Dzanan is a Muslim from Bosnia and Herzegovina, which suffered a brutal civil war. He has involved with that community in directing charitable funds. 

Afterfund has already run a pilot with 1 domestic charity (an Islamic Center in Chicago) with 2 causes (providing meals and education) that grew 45% week over week and attracted donors from 9 different countries. We are constantly working with donors and charities to conduct surveys to understand their needs and future causes that people want to support.  

We have already found groups with the infrastructure and directive to invest and give charity in the Global South. From a social business perspective, we are discussing work with Takadao, a interest-free lending startup, and the gener8tor accelerator. We already have an MOU for international work with Giving What We Can (the largest effective altruism charity in the world) and Bosnian charities. We are also in discussions with Afghan Relief and an Indonesian orphan charity. 

For our pilot, we partnered with a charity that provides meals to ~3000 families every year (around 240/month).And during our test launch, we had ~30 people from 9 different countries donate towards this cause. 

We were introduced to this idea a short time ago by Andrew Ngui, who attended some workshops that discussed this program. We think there is great overlap in our mission and that of Solve; becoming part of its network and community will increase Afterfund's impact. 

We are the first digital endowment solution for Muslims globally. This enables us to better connect Muslim Millennials to worthy causes. 

We aim to raise USD 70k in donations and grow to at least 4 countries in the next year. We believe these goals will serve thousands of families across a range of charitable needs--from hunger, to education, and even growing businesses. 

Donations raised, meals provided, orphans helped, businesses funded

Our theory of change is grounded in hinge theory and effective altruism, both of which influence us to maximize impact through investment, particularly in the present. 

We are using a digital platform accessible through mobile and other internet-connected devices. 

We are actively looking for those who represent the groups we help, which largely comprise minorities and those in the Global South

2-sided marketplace

Low burn, grants, individual funding

We have already raised 10k+ in 2 weeks and found 5k in grants. We have a personal warchest that can last us a couple of years, if necessary.