The Tribune

By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

AN ArawakX crowdfunded company has surpassed its minimum goal by 16 percent in less than a week.

Foot Care Rx successfully surpassed its minimum goal of $150,000 with pledges of $173,860 within four days of being listed on the ArawakX crowdfunding platform.

Foot Care Rx, owned and operated by Dr Daniel Johnson, a former cabinet minister, is developing a series of community based affordable clinics using the latest medical technology for healthier feet. Each clinic costs about $150,000 to $200,000 to set up and administer.

“My initial motivation was simply to help my mom and her friends who were suffering from various foot ailments. It’s humbling and it’s also an overwhelming show of support that we are deepening the ownership of Bahamian people in the economy by giving people an opportunity to invest in a health care company,” says Dr Johnson. “Our goals are aligned with ArawakX and this is an indication of the success to come which all of our investors will share in.”

One area of focus of Foot Care Rx is to reduce diabetic amputations nationally by 50 percent through preventative treatments. The company also treats a wide variety of ailments associated with the feet, including gout and arthritis. Foot Care Rx has stated plans to go international after mastering the franchise system locally.

“We are delighted at the progress of the equity crowdfunding raise at this juncture. We know the company is offering a service that is badly needed in the community and this is exactly how crowdfunding is intended to work,” says D’Arcy Rahming Jr., ArawakX Co-Founder and company spokesperson.

Tropical Gyros the other current listing on ArawakX has also exceeded their minimum goal of pledges with a minimum goal of $320,000 and pledges of $351,509. “Since our launch on June 7 we have seen a 30 percent increase in volume and new customer base. This has created a direct revenue increase of about $29,000 per month these past two months,” says Chef Kevin Culmer, Founder of Tropical Gyros.

ArawakX is committed to bringing more companies to its platform. “We have shifted our focus to companies that you can go and see, sample their services and products,” says Rahming Jr. “Equity Crowdfunding was a missing part of the ecosystem that the public is widely embracing. We are now attempting to get institutional investors to become more active. These companies deserve our support and are already successful with customer demand.”