Money is the life-blood of your business, you must have heard that before right? It is quite sad to know that many entrepreneurs with great ideas have ended up throwing them down the drain due to a lack of required funds needed to bring these great ideas into existence.
Here’s great news! You can access funds to execute your ideas without any prior financial commitment. Read on to know the right place to look for funding and which type might be suitable for your business.
Grants
In Nigeria, applying for small business grants is one of the easiest ways to get funds for your business.
A grant is an amount of money that a government or other institution gives to an individual or an organization to promote the growth of the economy. Grants are non-repayable, unlike loans. With this, you don’t have to worry about repayment and term length. All you need is to qualify for the grant and you have it- isn’t it cool to receive free money for your business?
Apply for any of these grants rather than giving up on those great ideas:
- Y Combinator (Y.C) Grants
- TEF Entrepreneurship Program
- The Rockefeller Foundation Grants
- Bank of Industry Funding Project
- Shell Livewire
- African Development Foundation
- LoftyInc Capital Management
Consider Venture Capital
Looking for some serious funding? Then you should turn to venture capital.
A venture capitalist (V.C) is an investor who provides capital to firms that exhibit high growth potential in exchange for an equity stake. Venture capitalists provide funding in exchange for control of the decision-making and a portion of the company’s ownership. They are attractive as they can offer considerable business knowledge, a huge sum of capital, and take higher risks.
Before considering this type of funding, if sharing a larger part of your business with someone else doesn’t go down well with you, this might not be for you. Look into these venture capitalist platforms, you just might get lucky:
- Future Africa
- Greentree Investment Africa
- Ventures Platform
- EchoVC Partners
- Ingressive Capital
Take Out Loans
Another way to find funds for your business is by taking out loans from traditional or microfinance banks. Bank loans require a lot of documentation and collateral before loans can be granted and often take longer and the interest rates can be high. Microfinance loans, on the other hand, take a few days before they can be accessed, unlike bank loans. Either way, loans create more room for expansion in your business.
Angel Investment
An angel investor is a high net-worth individual or company who provides capital for a business or businesses start-up, oftentimes in exchange for convertible debt or ownership equity. Getting funds from an angel investor is far less risky than a loan or venture capital as you do not have to repay. They are only after shares in your business. They also provide more favorable terms compared to other lenders. The funds provided by angel investors are those that help the business through its challenging formative years. In essence, they are the opposite of venture capitalists who are interested in already profitable businesses. Lagos Angel Network foremost angel investor in Nigeria.
Are you still thinking of giving up on those awesome ideas you think can make a difference in the world? Or you’re considering folding up your business anytime soon, consider any of the options above to help keep your business afloat.
Best of luck!!