Making your first investment

Subscribing to an Ardent CrowdFund campaign is designed to feel familiar to anyone who has used mobile money or online banking in Ghana. Behind the simple flow sits a strict regulatory sequence, risk acknowledgement, electronic signature, escrow deposit, a cooling-off period (under SEC Guideline 27(7) you can withdraw before the end of the offer; the platform also uses a 48-hour fallback when no offer end is set), and only then a confirmed holding in your portfolio. This walkthrough takes you through the full journey step by step.

The investment flow end-to-end

1. 1

   Open the campaign and review the offer document

   Required

   Every legal term that governs your investment lives in this single PDF, read it before you click Invest.

   The offer document is linked from the campaign's Documents tab and also surfaced inline at the top of the subscription flow. At minimum, confirm you understand the issuer, the instrument (equity / debt / convertible), the use of funds, the timeline, and the specific risk factors. Once you've read it, tick the acknowledgement box, Ardent records the timestamp against your investor profile.

2. 2

   Click Invest and enter your commitment amount

   1 min

   Enter the cedi amount you want to commit. The form validates against the campaign minimum, your category limit, and your remaining annual cap.

   The amount box shows three live hints underneath as you type:

   • The campaign's minimum and maximum ticket.
   • Your remaining annual investment budget (see Investor limits).
   • A small "units" readout showing how your amount converts into shares (equity) or face value (debt).
3. 3

   Pick a payment method

   Choose how the money leaves your account. Funds are moved into a segregated escrow account held by our custodian bank, not into Ardent's own bank account.

   Supported rails:

   • Mobile money: MTN MoMo, Telecel Cash, AirtelTigo Money.
   • Ghana bank transfer: direct debit (GhIPSS) or manual EFT.
   • Debit card: Visa / Mastercard issued in Ghana.
   • Ardent wallet balance: if you received a distribution or refund recently and left it on the platform.

   A full list of supported institutions, plus settlement times for each, is in Supported payments.

4. 4

   Sign the subscription agreement

   An electronic, timestamped signature bound to your KYC identity.

   The agreement auto-populates with your details and the amount you just entered. You'll see a scrollable copy on screen, scroll to the bottom to enable the Sign button. Once signed, both you and the issuer receive a counter-signed PDF in your inbox.

5. 5

   Confirm the commitment

   A last-chance summary screen before any money moves.

   Double-check the issuer, instrument type, amount, and payment source. Clicking Confirm & Pay initiates the debit on the rail you chose in step 3. For mobile money you'll be prompted to approve on your phone; for card payments you'll go through 3-D Secure.

6. 6

   Receive your escrow receipt

   Funds are now held by our custodian bank in an SEC Ghana–regulated escrow account in your name, specific to this campaign.

   The receipt is emailed to you within 2–5 minutes of a successful debit. It contains:

   • A unique escrow reference (format ESC-YYYYMMDD-XXXXXX).
   • The name of the custodian bank and the campaign this escrow is tied to.
   • Your commitment amount and the effective subscription date.
   • A summary of your cooling-off rights and the exact expiry timestamp.

   A copy is also stored under Portfolio → Pending subscriptions and can be re-downloaded any time.

7. 7

   Your cooling-off window begins

   Statutory

   Under SEC Ghana Guideline 27(7) you can cancel while the offer is open—typically until the campaign's published close date. If no close date exists in the system, Ardent uses a 48-hour window from commitment.

   During the window:

   • Your status is shown as Pending, cooling-off (or similar).
   • You can cancel in one tap from Portfolio → Pending subscriptions → Cancel when the offer is still open. Funds are released from escrow back to the original payment method within a few business days, depending on your bank or MoMo provider.
   • You can also increase the commitment (subject to limits); product rules may restart a shorter clock where applicable.

   Full rules are in Cooling-off period.

8. 8

   Subscription is confirmed

   Once cooling-off expires (and the campaign hits its minimum close target), your position is finalised and moves into the confirmed section of your portfolio.

   You'll receive a second email, the confirmation email: with your final allotment, a signed copy of the subscription agreement, and links to your investor certificate (once the campaign closes). The status in your portfolio flips from Pending to Confirmed.

Pending vs Confirmed, what the status means

A subscription moves through three states:

Modelling a debt investment before you commit

If the campaign is a debt instrument, the calculator below lets you model your periodic cash flows given the coupon rate, term, and payment frequency shown on the campaign page. Adjust the principal to match the amount you're considering subscribing.

Loading investment calculator…

The periodic payment is what will arrive in your payout method each cycle. Total interest is your gross return before any withholding tax (see Receiving payments). Total return is the sum of every payment you'll receive, principal plus interest, across the life of the loan.

What to expect in your inbox

From committing to confirmation you should receive, in order, the following four emails. Keep an eye on your spam folder if any are missing.

If something goes wrong

• Payment failed: Ardent automatically releases any partial holds and emails you a failure notice with a retry link. No signature or commitment is recorded until funds have cleared.
• Escrow receipt didn't arrive: check Portfolio → Pending subscriptions; if the subscription appears there, the email is probably just delayed. If it doesn't appear after 15 minutes, contact support with the timestamp of your payment.
• Campaign cancelled after you committed: the issuer or the regulator can cancel a campaign before close. In that case escrow is unwound in full to every investor, no fees, within five business days.

Next steps

Once your first subscription is confirmed:

• Visit Your portfolio to see the new position and download your investor certificate.
• Read Receiving payments so you know when and how cash flows will reach you.
• If you invested in equity, set notification preferences for AGMs; see AGMs and voting.