About Lupiiya: Local Capital for Uganda’s Young Entrepreneurs
Lupiiya is a Kampala-based community building an equity crowdfunding platform, so that young Ugandan founders can raise money from the people who know them best: their neighbours, peers, friends and family.
Why Lupiiya exists
Uganda is one of the youngest countries in the world, and it is full of people starting things: a salon in Ntinda, a poultry project in Mukono, a tailoring business run from a phone in Gulu. Ideas and hard work are everywhere. What is missing is affordable, patient capital.
For most young founders, a bank loan is out of reach. Lenders ask for collateral, years of trading history and repayments that start before the business has found its feet. Formal investment, meanwhile, has mostly been reserved for a small circle of wealthy investors and foreign funds.
Ugandans already know how to pool money for a shared goal. We do it for weddings, introductions, graduations and funerals. Lupiiya takes that tried and tested habit and gives it structure, so that the same community that funds a celebration can own a real stake in a growing business.
Our mission
To make it simple for young Ugandan entrepreneurs aged 18 to 35 to raise growth capital from local investors, and to give everyday Ugandans a fair way to share in that growth.
Our vision
A Uganda where any promising business, in any district, can be funded by its own community, and where side hustles grow into employers that create jobs for thousands of young people.
What Lupiiya believes in
These principles shape every tool we build and every decision we make for our members.
Community first
Starting a business can be lonely. We want to be the unpaid team member who is with you from the first idea to the first hire.
Simple by design
You should not need an MBA to raise money or to invest. Our tools explain things in plain language and work on the phone in your pocket.
Trust and transparency
Every entrepreneur and investor is verified before they can take part, and businesses report on how the money they raise is used.
Proudly African
We build for Ugandan realities, not imported assumptions, and we are committed to the growth of our continent and all her people.
The people Lupiiya is built for
Young entrepreneurs
If you are a Ugandan aged 18 to 35 with a business ready for funding, or a promising idea you want to turn into one, Lupiiya is for you. We help you get organised, keep proper books, meet Ugandan compliance requirements and present your business clearly to investors.
Local investors
You do not have to be rich to invest. Lupiiya is designed so that anyone can back a local startup with as little as 50,000 shillings, compare businesses as easily as comparing two report cards, and follow how their money is being used.
The wider community
Every business that grows creates jobs, pays taxes and serves customers. When local savings fund local businesses, the returns stay in Ugandan communities.
Research that shapes Lupiiya
We started by listening. Our Uganda Entrepreneurship Report 2020 analysed data collected from over 200,000 entrepreneurs to understand how young Ugandans start, finance and grow their businesses, and where they get stuck.
Those findings guide what we are building:
- Lupiiya Hub: a verified home for entrepreneurs and investors to meet, fundraise and invest.
- Lupiiya Index: a planned secondary equity market so investors have a way to exit and sell their shares.
- Fintech tools for book-keeping and compliance, built around Ugandan rules and the way local businesses actually operate.
Join the Lupiiya community
Whether you want to raise capital for your business or invest in the next generation of Ugandan companies, there is a place for you.
Join the Community