Building wealth is an important aspect of life for humans. This is because it is necessary to make both the wealth builder and his generations to come comfortable.
There are several ways through which a person can build wealth, however; investment is one of the proven and most reliable ways to do this.
Investment implies placing a specific sum of money (capital) in a financial setup in expectation of deriving income or returns from its use by the third party or appreciation over time.
It varies depending on the time and amount invested. Based on this, investment can either be short-term or long-term. As each day passes, more people become interested in investing seeing how lucrative the financial habit is.
However, it is quite problematic for many of these potential investors to select the right platform. In this article, we will carry out a critical review on Invest Bamboo to see if it is a platform you need as a potential investor.
Without further ado, let’s get started.
What is Invest Bamboo?
Investment Bamboo, otherwise known as Bamboo Invest or Invest Bamboo; is one of the popular investment platforms in Nigeria that aims to give Africans that have attained the legal age unrestricted access to over 3500 stocks on the U.S stock exchange or their country’s stock exchange from their computer or mobile phone.
At the moment, the company has its presence established in Nigeria. The platform only allows Nigerians to buy and sell shares swiftly in just a few processes.
Investment Bamboo allows you to invest in either Naira or Dollars depending on your choice.
Why Do You Need InvestBamboo?
The U.S stock exchange is one of the most profitable for investors in the world. As said on the Investment Bamboo About page; “The U.S stock market makes up over 85% of all dollars that go into the global markets”.
Therefore, Africans especially Nigerians at the moment needs a way to make their funds work for them on this exchange. Hence, the need for InvestBamboo.
In short, you need InvestBamboo as an investor to get shares with returns in dollars which provide lesser risk and better returns than investing in Naira.
On the good side, the platform also lets you invest in Naira. Thus, it is a win-win situation at the end of the day.
Features of Invest Bamboo
InvestBamboo is a fully-fledged investment platform in Nigeria and the following features have been included on the platform to give you a remarkable investment experience:
- Mobile Apps: To make it easier for users to access their accounts on the platform; InvestBamboo have mobile apps for both IOS and Android users. These apps can be gotten directly through the platform’s website or on Playstore and Apple Store.
- Multiple payment options: The platform supports a series of payment options ranging from direct bank transfers to the use of debit/credit cards such as MasterCard, Verve, and Visa cards.
- Holding option: You may decide to keep your stocks instead of selling them. Bamboo Invest lets you keep them as long as you wish.
- Tracking tools: Monitor and track all your investment activities such as purchased stocks and ROI (Returns On Investment) in real-time using the divergent analysis tools provided by the platform.
- Withdrawal feature: This feature allows you to transfer your earned funds to your local bank account and takes about 3 days to be completed.
- Security feature: The security features of Invest Bamboo are of high standards and will be discussed more in one of the subsequent paragraphs.
What is the Minimum Amount I Can Invest in Bamboo Investment?
$20 which is about ₦10,000 (using a rate of $1 to ₦500). You can either deposit in Naira or dollars. However, your choice of deposit option will greatly affect your withdrawal method.
This is because you can only withdraw the exact way you have deposited. That is, if you deposited in dollars then you can withdraw in dollars and if you deposited in Naira then you can only withdraw your funds in Naira.
How to Deposit Money in Your Investment Bamboo Account
There are two ways of depositing money in your Investment Bamboo’s account:
- Through the normal bank transfer or card process that can take up to 2 days to arrive in your account.
- Through the instant deposit option at an additional fee (this is not available to first-timer).
How To Get Started?
Getting started on InvestBamboo is quite easy as you only need about 20 minutes or less to complete your registration on the platform.
- Visit the official website of Bamboo and sign up
- Open the app to start creating your account by inputting your personal details such as full name, phone number, e-mail address, and so on
- Proceed to the verification process by inputting your BVN (Bank Verification Number)
- Further verify yourself by providing details on your Bank and upload a Government Issued ID (Passport, National ID, Voter’s card) and a Utility Bill
- Navigate to your financial market of choice (Nigerian or American)
- Select your stocks of choice and invest in them by buying them
- Sell off your stocks when they are mature enough to make a profit
- Use the data analytics tools to your advantage for better productivity
- Repeat the last three (3) processes to get the best out of the platform.
InvestBamboo Fees and Charges
The fees charged by Invest Bamboo are not clumsy and have been well-explained on its FAQ on the Fees page. Here is a summary of the charges on Invest Bamboo:
Deposit Charges
All normal deposit charges are capped at ₦2000 with the initial charges diverging based on the methods of deposit.
- Naira cards: 1.4%
- Mobile bank transfers: Fixed rate of ₦150
- Dollar cards: 2.9%
- Internet bank transfer: 1.4%
- Barter Transfer: 1.4%
Instant Deposit
Here, there is an additional fee of 0.1% with a minimum of $1 and a maximum of $10. This means that if 0.1% on your initial transaction is less than $1; you will still be charged $1 and if it is more than $10 then you will be capped at $10. The equivalent is converted from dollars to naira for naira instant deposit.
Trade Fees
A flat 1.5% fee is charged on all purchased and sold stocks on the platform with no hidden fees or maintenance charges.
Withdrawal Fees
A flat ₦45 is charged on Naira withdrawal and $45 on withdrawals in dollars.
Minimum Withdrawal Amount
The minimum withdrawal on a Naira account is ₦300 and $500 from a dollar account on Invest Bamboo.
You must not forget you can only withdraw in naira if you deposited in naira (naira account) and dollars if your initial deposit was made in dollars (dollar account).
Taxes on Invest Bamboo
This is charged at 30% for WHT (Withholding Taxes) in accordance with the requirement of the U.S government on foreign investors.
Is InvestBamboo Legit?
Investment Bamboo has been proven to be 100% legit with connections in several reputable companies home and abroad (U.S). Its security features have been flawless so far with state-of-art data encryption backed with a 2FA authentication protection for users.
The platform is also protected by Nigeria and United States Stock Exchange Commission and have insurance of about $500,000 on each user’s account. Therefore, InvestBamboo is not a scam.
Final Verdict
Investing in either local companies or foreign top establishments should not pose a big problem and Invest Bamboo so far has proven to be up to the task.
Its fees might seem a bit high for dollar investment but quite fair after conversion to naira. Moreover, you are the owner of the investment. Its withdrawal processing period is not also good enough especially when the funds are needed urgently.
Aside from this, the platform can be rated 4.5 out of 5. We would recommend the platform for beginners and long-term investment plans.
Note: This article should not be taken as a piece of financial advice but rather as a breakdown of what Investment Bamboo entails. Do not risk what you cannot afford to lose and invest smartly.
