For the longest time collecting funds for a harambee has been a tedious affair more so for those who have been designated as treasurers. This is because one has to balance between their day-to-day activities and putting up timely and accurate updates in the WhatsApp groups. At times these treasurers are not able to account for the funds bringing conflict to a noble affair. However, this is a thing of the past with Nobuk Collect.
Nobuk is a digital platform that has been designed to simplify the collection of funds from multiple people. Unlike other platforms, Nobuk does not hold the funds that have been collected but rather they are sent directly to the group’s bank account, Paybill or Till. The platform also records these transactions for ease of tracking and reconciliation. It essentially brings transparency, accountability and convenience to community fundraising.
What I liked about Nobuk is that it is integrated with WhatsApp. As such, when a payment is made, it is automatically logged with a notification is sent to the group’s WhatsApp chat. This goes a long way in ensuring transparency and real-time updates something which has been an issue with many fundraising efforts.
Interestingly, Nobuk was borne out of frustrations that the founder of Nobuk, Elvis Bando encountered while taking part in fundraising activities for his friends and family. At the time, he used to find that the individuals who were tasked with collecting the funds often had poor communication and lacked transparency in handling the funds something which did not seat well with him.
Being that he was a Software Engineer, Elvis decided to come up with a solution to what he felt was a perennial problem. In 2022, he co-founded Nobuk which has since then grown in leaps and bounds. With the platform supporting over 800 communities raise over Ksh. 50 Million.
A year after Nobuk’s launch, the founders successfully applied to the Spark Accelerator Program run by Safaricom, which aims to scale commercially viable businesses. The program has been crucial in helping Nobuk refine its business model and build a sustainable enterprise.
Elvis had this to say, “The Spark Accelerator has been really valuable for us. It’s not just about funding; it’s about learning how to run a business. The training has helped us with HR, investment, due diligence, and many other aspects of business. We’ve also had the opportunity to connect with advisors and partners that we wouldn’t have been able to access on our own.”
According to Nobuk, their immediate focus is on solidifying its position in Kenya. With plans to expand into other African markets in the near future.
Elvis said, “We want to maintain our position in the Kenyan market first before scaling. Our focus right now is embedding ourselves in this ecosystem. Once we have that strong foundation, we can expand to other countries.”