Raf'a

About Raf'a

Raf’a — meaning “elevate” in Arabic — is a prototype to rewire venture capital for wealth distribution. We see capital not just as a financial tool, but as a moral and social lever for justice, equity, and human dignity. Today’s venture capital system fuels wealth concentration and exclusion. Raf’a flips that logic, transforming the very legal and financial architecture of investment into one that redistributes both capital and power. Our model combines two interconnected hacks: a shared-risk investment product and a community-governed fund structure. The shared-risk product aligns investors and founders as true partners through profit-and-loss sharing, eliminating debt, interest, and extractive terms. Investors and entrepreneurs hold equity in one another, creating mutual accountability and shared prosperity. The cooperative fund structure, in turn, decentralises governance, embedding collective decision-making among founders, employees, investors, and the communities they serve. Together, these mechanisms turn capital into a commons by circulating wealth horizontally rather than concentrating it vertically. Grounded in Islamic finance principles and cooperative economics, Raf’a builds from one of the world’s oldest ethical finance systems while remaining universal in purpose. It offers an alternative to extractive finance and dependency-based philanthropy, positioning shared-risk, community ownership, and equitable governance as the foundations of a just economy. Raf’a is designed for the global majority – visionary founders historically excluded from traditional finance yet leading solutions for climate justice and community resilience. By reprogramming the system’s core code, Raf’a transforms finance from an engine of inequality into an instrument of liberation, where wealth becomes a tool for redistribution, repair, and renewal.

Team Members

Sheeza Shah

Founder, UpEffect