Empowering 25 start-ups on the African continent, like Trove, to scale and secure $16-million (R270 million) in funding through strategic design and workshop facilitation.
As part of MultiChoice’s Start-up Accelerator Programme, we designed and facilitated fintech solutions for startups like Trove, helping them secure funding and scale. The goal was to create a seamless financial management platform, allowing users to track investments, get financial advice and make informed decisions.
We enabled start-ups like Trove, to refine their digital products for scalability.
⬩Assisted in raising nearly $16-million in funding.
⬩Improved user retention through guided financial decision-making tools.
⬩Created a blueprint for investor-ready UX/UI design in financial start-ups.
Problem
Many early-stage start-ups struggle to secure funding due to lack of user validation, unclear value propositions and limited digital presence. The goal was to bridge this gap through design and strategy, ensuring start-ups could present investor-ready products.
Goal
To design and facilitate a digital experience that would help start-ups like Trove refine their offering, user experience and investor appeal, ultimately assisting them in raising millions of dollars in funding.
Plan of Action
Strategy - Identified key friction points in start-up business models. Then defined user personas and investor expectations. Lastly, conducted market research to position digital products effectively.
Design & Prototyping - The app had an already established brand identity that I could leverage in the new screens. Introduced nudges and behavioural psychology techniques to guide users in better financial decision-making.
Testing & Iteration - Ran usability tests with start-up founders. We then refined onboarding flows to ensure clarity in service offerings together. Implemented real-time coaching and advisory integrations (chat function).
I was fortunate to work with a very open client and we were able to create a feature-rich app, that included:
⬩Trade Decision Helper – Allowed users to pause before making impulsive trades.
⬩Integrated Financial Advice – Chat-based support for real-time financial guidance.
⬩Gamified User Engagement – Users earned badges for smart investment behaviours.
⬩Premium Subscription Model – Encouraged sign-ups for Trove Premium with a freemium approach.
There were no challenges that required a pivot by myself or anyone on the team if we're talking specifically about building out the products, such as I did for Trove. The whole programme needed to shift slightly due to physical time-differences of individuals and priorities surrounding collateral needed for the presentation to potential investors but that didn't affect this specific client or his product.
The programme highlighted how design can directly influence business success. By aligning user needs, investor expectations and product experiences, we empowered start-ups to raise capital while delivering meaningful financial, health and lifestyle tools.