In a series of tweets, Truppr’s founder, Bosun Tijani made it known that UK-based grant-making foundation, IndigoTrust, has given £30,000 (N9 million) interest free loan, to his startup.
Truppr is a social app that helps sports lovers and fitness enthusiasts find teammates for their favorite sports in cities around the world.
Bosun says the loan is payable only when Truppr begins to make money.
30k£ (about 9m Naira) interest free loan to @truppr from @indigotrust – payable only when we make money is an interesting twist to funding!
— ‘Bosun Tijani (@bosuntijani) May 2, 2015
I can’t say it enough but i find @indigotrust investment in #tech across #Africa a bold bet on the future of the continent. — ‘Bosun Tijani (@bosuntijani) May 2, 2015
It shouldn’t be all abt big $$$ machines. Investment in local tech groups & experimentation is key to growing tech in #Africa @indigotrust
— ‘Bosun Tijani (@bosuntijani) May 2, 2015
I am excited about this new model and pray it evolves into a mainstream approach to early stage start-up funding in #Africa (by foundations) — ‘Bosun Tijani (@bosuntijani) May 2, 2015
Indigo Trust funds technology-driven projects to bring about social change, largely in African countries and focuses mainly on innovation, transparency and citizen empowerment.
This development comes on the heels of a planned launch of the Truppr app in Nairobi, Kenya this month, TechCabal has gathered. The Nairobi activation will likely adopt the same approach as the app has in Nigeria, which is to not just host community events, but also involve corporates organisations in regular fitness and social meetups.
We’ve reached out to Bosun and will keep you updated with any new development.
Update:
In reply to our questions, Bosun Tijani says,
