UK registered company · Working across seven African countries
ARK Group International helps small and growing African businesses raise catalytic capital and diaspora investment, and gives them the guidance to turn that funding into lasting income.
Our research
Published by ODI Global and with the International Growth Centre
Africa’s “missing middle” comprises high-potential small and growing businesses (SMEs) that are too large for microfinance but not yet ready for traditional investment from development finance institutions (DFIs). They are solving important problems but often struggle to access the resources they need to grow. In 2018 the International Finance Corporation put the unmet demand for finance among micro, small and medium-sized businesses in Sub-Saharan Africa at US$331 billion.
We use a blended-finance approach, deploying catalytic capital (also called catalytic finance), together with concessional and patient capital, to attract private investment through clear pathways for growing trading income. Our particular focus is diaspora investment: capital invested by people of African heritage living abroad, motivated by a connection to Africa and the pursuit of both impact and financial returns.
Our work aims to establish diaspora investment as a scalable asset class that helps close the financing gap and enables Africa’s most promising businesses to grow. Through partnerships across the countries we serve, we advocate for an ecosystem approach to closing that gap for Africa’s missing middle.
FundBridge is our main platform for delivering this support. African businesses and those in the diaspora can use it to explore funding opportunities, apply for our flagship Built to Scale programme, and access practical resources for becoming investment-ready and securing catalytic capital and investment. Diaspora investors can use FundBridge to discover promising African ventures and access resources to support their investment journey.
If your business is too big for microfinance and not yet ready for institutional investors, ARK helps you find the right funding, apply well and become investment-ready. Use FundBridge to explore funding opportunities and apply for the Built to Scale programme.
Find funding on FundBridge (opens in a new tab)
If you are part of the African diaspora and want your capital to earn a return and make a difference, join FundBridge to discover promising African ventures and follow our diaspora investment work as it takes shape.
Discover ventures on FundBridge (opens in a new tab)
Browse funding opportunities on FundBridge and find the ones that fit your business.
Apply for Built to Scale, our flagship cohort-based sprint for high-potential organisations across Africa.
Work with ARK to become investment-ready: strengthen your trading income and prepare what funders and investors ask for.
Meet diaspora investors and other funders who are looking for ventures like yours.
When Joevas Asare founded ARK with his co-founder in 2019, he had already spent almost a decade working in development finance. With experience across leading institutions and a degree from Oxford, he assumed that raising finance for a promising venture would be relatively straightforward.
ARK was born from a frustration Joevas had repeatedly encountered in his work with development finance institutions: the claim that Africa lacked bankable local ventures. This did not reflect what he saw firsthand. Across the continent, he encountered ambitious businesses solving real problems, creating jobs and developing innovations with the potential to transform markets.
Read our storyARK’s research on diaspora investment and business finance in Africa is published by ODI Global and with the International Growth Centre.
A study of Freetown Waste Transformers’ journey from a pioneering waste-to-energy venture to a business leveraging both public and private investment for growth.
A policy and market study mapping how Ghana can convert diaspora goodwill into scalable, structured investment, drawn from interviews across the public and private sectors.
Field research across Sierra Leone’s public and private sectors, examining how diaspora capital can support the country’s move away from aid dependency.
7
African countries where ARK works
Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Uganda.
£10m+
In funding mobilised for African businesses since 2019.
£30m+
In investment mobilised for African businesses since 2019.
“They’ve really been of great help to us in successfully applying for several grants last year. Thanks to ARK, we’re able to get to the next level.”
Jan de GraafCOO of BioMassters, Rwanda“Having a partner like ARK has been incredibly useful to getting us to the next stage of sustainability.”
Dipesh PabariCo-Founder of The FlipFlopi Project, Kenya“They have added a lot of value and have helped us to articulate our vision and impact to stakeholders.”
Caleb EdwardsFounder and CEO of Wamiagro, Ghana“We’ve had really great support in understanding some of the schemes, grants and funding available that can help us scale up this incredibly important work.”
Amjid KhazirDirector, Media Cultured CIC“It’s been really good to have an organisation like ARK working alongside us as a strategic partner. They offer much more than fundraising.”
Philip MillsCo-Founder of Building Pathways CIC, UK“ARK has supported Rap Therapy in many ways. The main ways are grant funding applications, networking, and simply putting us in contact with the right people.”
Bhishma AsareCEO of Rap Therapy“ARK has helped us to formulate it really tightly, really clearly, and bring it across to funders and donors.”
Rikko VoorbergDirector of the Network, A World of Neighbours“ARK has been such a blessing to my business. They have helped me to analyse and grow the business in new ways.”
Nicole HenryCEO and Founder, Tea of TherapyWe prioritise projects that create meaningful economic and social change.
We ensure clear, honest, and accountable processes in all funding activities.
We work in an ecosystem of partnerships to drive sustainable change.
We prioritise serving the underserved and those that face discriminatory barriers to access funding.
ARK is led by Joevas Asare, Radhika Sanyal and Sidi Saccoh, who bring complementary experience across development finance, business growth and diaspora investment.
Managing Director
Joevas co-founded ARK in 2019 after almost a decade in development finance, and is the author of its research on diaspora investment.
Joevas on LinkedIn (opens in a new tab)
Deputy Director
Radhika leads ARK’s concessional funding workstreams and product development.
Radhika on LinkedIn (opens in a new tab)
Commercial Director
Sidi leads commercial growth strategy for ARK’s partner companies, giving each a clear plan for growing revenue.
Sidi on LinkedIn (opens in a new tab)Still have a question? Email fundbridge@arkgroupint.com
ARK Group International helps small and growing African businesses raise catalytic capital and diaspora investment, and provides the strategic guidance to turn that funding into sustainable income. It works across seven African countries.
ARK was co-founded in 2019 by Joevas Asare, who had spent almost a decade working in development finance. Today it is led by Joevas Asare, Radhika Sanyal and Sidi Saccoh.
Diaspora investment is capital invested in African businesses by people of African heritage living abroad. It is motivated by a connection to Africa and by the pursuit of both impact and financial returns. ARK’s aim is to establish diaspora investment as a scalable asset class.
The missing middle is the group of high-potential African businesses that are too large for microfinance but not yet ready for investment from development finance institutions. They often struggle to find the funding they need to grow.
Catalytic capital is finance that accepts more risk, a longer wait or a lower return than commercial investors would, so that a business can grow to the point where private investment follows. It is also called catalytic finance.
ARK uses catalytic, concessional and patient capital to reduce the risk of investing in a business, so that private investors are willing to come in. The approach is built around clear pathways for growing the business’s trading income.
FundBridge is ARK’s platform, at funding.arkgroupint.com. African businesses use it to explore funding opportunities, apply for the Built to Scale programme and access practical resources. Diaspora investors use it to discover promising African ventures.
FundBridge has a free version with limited access. Paid plans with fuller access are being introduced.
Built to Scale is ARK’s flagship programme: a cohort-based sprint that helps high-potential organisations across Africa position themselves to access funding and investment, with a clear strategy for growing their trading income. Applications are made through FundBridge.
Start on FundBridge. Businesses can explore funding opportunities there, apply for the Built to Scale programme, and use practical resources on securing catalytic finance and investment.
ARK’s support with funding applications now runs through its programmes, mainly Built to Scale. Participants get guidance on positioning their applications to succeed, rather than having them written for them.
Diaspora investors can sign up on FundBridge to discover promising African ventures and follow ARK’s work as its diaspora investment products are developed.
ARK works across seven African countries: Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Uganda. Its published research covers Ghana and Sierra Leone.
Since 2019, ARK has supported ventures to mobilise more than £10 million in funding and more than £30 million in investment, across seven African countries.
ARK’s research includes a study of Freetown Waste Transformers in Sierra Leone, published by ODI Global, and two studies on diaspora investment in Ghana and Sierra Leone, published with the International Growth Centre. All three are on the Insights page.
You can reach ARK at fundbridge@arkgroupint.com. To explore funding or ventures, start on FundBridge.
Whether you are raising funding for your business or looking for African ventures to back, FundBridge is the place to start.
