In an interview with the Chief Executive Officer, Rise, Eke Eleanya Urum, he outlined the unique selling proposition of the company and how it stands out among its competitors. Excerpts:
Kindly give a background information about Rise
Rise is a product we’ve built that manages everyone’s money in dollars and invests it across all the best dollar investments around the world, hassle-free. With Rise, it’s like you have your own personal hedge fund that invests in dollars for you.
What informed your decision to go into this line of business?
A number of things really. The main driver is that more Nigerians need to earn in dollars and bring back forex into the country. The second is that a whole lot of us need to protect our money and investments from inflation and devaluation in order to really build wealth in the long term.
The final reason is that I believe we should be able to invest wherever the best growth opportunities in the world exist, not just where we physically live and so thanks to the Internet, and through Rise users can now invest and save in dollars, earn returns in dollars and put their money into the best opportunities globally, all from wherever they live right here in Nigeria.
My previous startup was the crypto exchange BuyCoins, and one of the things I discovered was that people are looking for access to more investment opportunities around the world. Those are all some reasons we built Rise.
What are the dollar-denominated investment opportunities available to Nigerians at the moment?
Currently, users get investments in a curated portfolio of US stocks, real estate assets, fixed income. Soon, we may introduce additional options like commodities or crypto. We’re working on it.
Why should Nigerians consider dollar-denominated investments?
The goal of any investment is to earn returns above inflation. well, that’s a lot easier to do in dollars. It’s also a great way to grow your wealth over time, as dollar investments will hold their value and gain more value even in situations where there’s devaluation. Lastly, we need to earn more and increase the dollars we bring back into the country. So it’s really a win-win.
How can Rise Capital make it easier for Nigerians to take advantage of said opportunities?
Well, we do all the heavy lifting. We research and curate the assets, manage them and all our users need to do is fund their accounts and track their returns. We have an investment club where we talk about investments and explain how they work, and we write a lot of articles that break down our process so it’s easy to understand. We’ve made it very simple and we continue to look for more ways to make it easier.
How easy is it to invest in these dollar-denominated investments?
Super easy. You can start funding from just $10 all the way up to whatever amount you want. You can automate your investments so that you can put away a fixed amount weekly, or monthly, and track your performance. And if you need someone to help, we’ll put you in touch with someone that can.
Some people believe it is expensive to invest in dollars because of the service cost to middlemen like yourself. What do you say to such people?
Our fees are quite low. 1.5% of funding, and that only comes out of the profits we made you. If we don’t make you money, our fees are zero. Now, compare that to leaving your money idle, where it’s losing 13% annually to inflation and decide which scenario is actually more expensive.
How much does it cost to invest in dollars using Rise Capital?
There’s our 1.5% fee, only charged when you’ve made profits. There are some fees charged by our payment processor if you use cards, but if you use our direct bank transfer option on the app, you only pay N35. Overall, we’ve made it incredibly cost-effective.
What makes Rise Capital different and unique from its competitors?
We are the only ones that give you the benefit of our expertise, our algorithms to find and manage the best investments for you. So you get world-class wealth management, without having to do the work by yourself. This allows you to focus on your work and personal interests which allows you to make more income, while Rise gives you a superior wealth management experience in dollars. And if you want a personalized experience, we can provide that.
Again, kindly tell Nigerians the advantages of investing in dollars and why they should invest through Rise?
Absolutely. So in general, the dollar holds its value better and grows more over time. And Rise not only gives you access to dollar investments, but we also curate, manage and deliver long term outperformance based on objective investment criteria.
So by using Rise, you’re enjoying better value, better performance and most importantly, the freedom to focus on doing your best work while watching your wealth grow. Just download the app and get started.