HoaQ
HoaQ is an African tech angel investment community founded in 2020 that enables 800+ members across 30+ countries to co-invest in early-stage African and diaspora startups from as little as $1,000 per deal, supported by a $5M fund and sub-brands spanning education and talent.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2020
- HeadquartersDublin, Ireland
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
HoaQ firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- HoaQ
- Legal name
- HoaQ Club
- Website
- https://hoaq.co
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2020
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- HoaQ is an African tech angel investment community founded in 2020 that enables 800+ members across 30+ countries to co-invest in early-stage African and diaspora startups from as little as $1,000 per deal, supported by a $5M fund and sub-brands spanning education and talent.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where HoaQ is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Dublin
- HQ country
- Ireland
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
HoaQ business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Annual Membership Fees: HoaQ charges an annual recurring fee of $100 per investor for membership access to investment opportunities and the community platform.
- Carried Interest (Carry): HoaQ charges 15% carried interest on successful exits. Returns are distributed to members after the carry deduction during liquidation events such as further fundraising, acquisition, or IPO.
- Transaction Processing Fees: Borderless (the operating system) charges a 2.5% transaction processing fee on investments at the time of commitment. For example, investing $1,000 incurs a $25 fee.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Individual investor membership with access to investment opportunities |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Startup investment deal participation |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels9 records
HoaQ product offering
Product offeringCore offering
HoaQ Club is an angel investment community that curates and presents early-stage African technology startups to its 800+ members across 30+ countries, enabling co-investment from as little as $1,000 per deal. The platform sources deals, structures participation with co-investors, and notifies members who can subscribe to rounds until minimum targets are reached, with portfolio updates delivered through closed Slack channels. Complementing the club are the HoaQ Fund (a $5M venture fund), HoaQ Academy (educational content), and HoaQ Talent (a job marketplace for the African tech ecosystem).
Product overview
HoaQ is an African tech investment community structured as a unified platform with multiple sub-brands. The core product is HoaQ Club, an angel investing platform that enables diaspora and global investors to co-invest in early-stage African technology startups via the Borderless operating system. The ecosystem comprises three main sub-brands: HoaQ Fund (a venture fund investing $25,000-$350,000 in pre-seed to Series A startups), HoaQ Academy (educational content platform), and HoaQ Talent (talent marketplace connecting companies with African professionals). The platform has deployed $4 million across 120+ investments in 33 portfolio companies spanning fintech, SaaS, logistics, e-commerce, edtech, healthtech, and adtech sectors across Africa and its diaspora. Investment minimum starts at $1,000 per deal with a $100 annual membership fee and 15% carried interest on exits.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- HoaQ Fund: A $5 million fund to support early-stage startups and facilitate follow-on investments.
- HoaQ Talent
- HoaQ Academy
Products and services
- HoaQ Club An angel investing community platform enabling members to co-invest in early-stage African technology startups with a $1,000 minimum per deal, deal notifications, commitment forms, and portfolio updates via closed Slack channels.
- HoaQ Fund A venture fund backing founders leveraging technology to build economic infrastructure for Africa, investing at pre-seed and seed stages with check sizes of $25,000 to $350,000.
- HoaQ Academy An educational content platform providing listen, watch, and read resources on African tech and entrepreneurship for the investment community.
- HoaQ Talent A job search and hiring platform connecting companies seeking top talent with individuals seeking career opportunities in Africa's tech ecosystem.
- HoaQ Angel Investing Platform A web-based angel investing platform (delivered via Borderless) that enables members to review startup deals, subscribe to investment opportunities, complete commitment forms, and receive investor updates through closed Slack channels.
Quantifiable outcome
- 5.73x aggregate return on investments
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use HoaQ
Customer profileNamed customers15 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
HoaQ technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
HoaQ partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- BorderlesscoreBorderless serves as HoaQ's operating system, enabling members to view deals, complete commitment forms, make investments, and receive investor updates. Borderless charges a 2.5% transaction processing fee on investments.
Scale indicators9 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
HoaQ competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Seedrs / Crowdcube (now Republic Europe): Crowdcube (formed from the Seedrs-Crowdcube combination under Republic) is one of Europe's largest retail-investor equity crowdfunding platforms, structurally analogous to HoaQ's community-led startup investing model.
- Wefunder: Wefunder is a US community-led equity crowdfunding platform that lets retail investors back startups with small checks. It mirrors HoaQ's model of low-minimum, community-driven startup investing, though Wefunder is not Africa-focused.
- SyndicateRoom: SyndicateRoom is a UK-based angel investing platform that aggregates retail investors into startup rounds. It is a close peer to HoaQ in business model (low-minimum, community-led angel investing) and is one of the few platforms serving a similar niche in the UK.
- Future Africa: Future Africa is a pan-African venture fund and one of HoaQ's named strategic partners for co-investment. It is a direct peer as an Africa-focused early-stage tech investor, though it operates primarily as a fund rather than a community platform.
- Republic: Republic (operated by OpenDeal Inc.) is the SEC-registered funding portal and broker-dealer that powers HoaQ's investment workflows. It is a direct functional peer as a community-driven retail investment platform, and HoaQ is effectively a verticalized syndicate running on top of Republic.
- RallyCap Ventures: RallyCap Ventures is a community-driven venture firm backing underrepresented founders, and is a HoaQ co-investment partner. It shares HoaQ's community-led investment thesis but focuses on US-based underrepresented founders.
- CcHub Syndicate: CcHub Syndicate is the syndicate arm of Nigeria's Co-Creation Hub ecosystem, enabling angel co-investment in African startups. It is a direct peer to HoaQ as an Africa-focused angel syndicate and is also a HoaQ partner.
Emerging players
- Launch Africa Ventures: Launch Africa Ventures is a pan-African fund that invests in early-stage African tech startups. It is a peer as an early-stage African tech investor, with a similar seed/pre-seed focus to HoaQ's deal sizes.
- Ingressive Capital: Ingressive Capital is a venture capital firm investing in African tech startups. It is comparable to HoaQ as an Africa-focused early-stage investor, but operates as a traditional fund rather than a community platform.
Broad incumbents
- AngelList: AngelList is the largest online platform for angel investing and startup fundraising, enabling syndicates and rolling funds. It is a direct platform analogue to HoaQ's Borderless-powered model, but operates at vastly greater global scale and does not focus on Africa.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
HoaQ social profiles
Digital presenceHoaQ financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
HoaQ leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles7 records
HoaQ funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
HoaQ M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments27 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about HoaQ
What does HoaQ do?
HoaQ Club is an angel investment community that curates and presents early-stage African technology startups to its 800+ members across 30+ countries, enabling co-investment from as little as $1,000 per deal. The platform sources deals, structures participation with co-investors, and notifies members who can subscribe to rounds until minimum targets are reached, with portfolio updates delivered through closed Slack channels. Complementing the club are the HoaQ Fund (a $5M venture fund), HoaQ Academy (educational content), and HoaQ Talent (a job marketplace for the African tech ecosystem).
Is HoaQ a public or private company?
HoaQ is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was HoaQ founded?
HoaQ was founded in 2020. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is HoaQ based?
HoaQ is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, in the Europe region.
How does HoaQ make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Annual Membership Fees are the primary driver. The others are carried Interest (Carry) and transaction Processing Fees.
Who are HoaQ's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Seedrs / Crowdcube (now Republic Europe), Wefunder, SyndicateRoom, Future Africa, Republic, RallyCap Ventures and CcHub Syndicate. Emerging players are Launch Africa Ventures and Ingressive Capital. AngelList is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does HoaQ have an API?
No public API is recorded for HoaQ.