10 ways to be valuable at work

How to turn a simple idea into a million dollar business

How to turn a simple idea into a million dollar business

How to turn a simple idea into a million dollar business

RAIISING CAPITAL 2020

The $1,000,000 African Entrepreneurship Awards will open its gates to receive applications on the 1st of March, 2018. That year, applications are welcome from innovative ideas and from sport entrepreneurship, which replaces environment and education categories from last year.

What is Innovation?

The website of AEA describes Innovation as a key to solving pressing issues and creating value in Africa. It means introducing a new technology, new business model or attempting to solve a problem that’s never been solved before. The Award seeks businesses that innovate to create jobs and improve lives in Africa.

Other available funding opportunities in areas like agribusiness, fin-tech, health, manufacturing, services etc include

RAISING CAPITAL SECRETS ONLINE COURSE

  1. Bank of industry graduate entrepreneurship fund (2billion naira)
  2. Mashro3 amal entrepreneurship program
  3. $ 5000 tony elumelu foundation entrepreneurship programme for africans 2018
  4. Aspire small business fund for businesses in Niger Delta
  5. Mest entrepreneurs in training (eits)
  6. Sinapis entrepreneurship training
  7. The Baobab Network Opportunities for African Entrepreneurs
  8. 2018 Africa Energy Ideas Competition

If your business idea/existing business fits into any of these two categories, now is the time to start preparing your proposal and business plan. We recommend that you join our training this month on Raising Capital will enable you become sufficiently prepared to apply and raise your chances of winning not only this grant, but other investment opportunities.

During the Raising capital training we will focus on the following

  1. Developing a sustainable growth and revenue model
  2. How to properly fill out a grant application form
  3. What investor really want to see in your business
  4. How to write a winning business plan or proposal
  5. How to pitch your business in a competition.

To register for raising capital training please fill this form or email hello@thebusinessoutliers.com ,  send a whatsapp message to 08174396809

HOW TO APPROACH AN INVESTOR

How do you reach out to an investor?

Assume you found a contact detail, perhaps an email address and then you decide to try what is called a cold call, but this time, via email.

What do you say in your mail?

Never forget, investors a pretty busy people who may get all sorts of unsolicited emails,

Therefore, you mail must be a good pitch, you have to make an impression in the shortest possible time or else your email will be treated as junk, or even spam.

So, you have less than 60 seconds to make a good impression, or he/she will junk or delete your email.

Typical questions entrepreneurs ask is
1). How do I reach out to potential investors?
2). What exactly do I say?
3). What is the ideal length of the email?
4). You are reading this post today because you have probably been in this situation before

And I am providing real-world answers to all the questions above

Firstly, even before you put pen to paper, well in this case before you put fingers to key board, start with a detailed research on the investor, find out which industry they invest in, do they work in your industry?

Come on, it would not make sense to ask someone who focuses solely on fin tech to put money in your Agro business, except of course your know that they may be looking to switch,- that information will still come as a result of research. Your research can be a simple internet search or speaking to a few people.

Next, you must find out how this investor works, is are they motivated by profit? research and development? social impact or policies?

Another important thing to do is to find out when the investor invests, do they run program cycles or are they investing all year round?

Here are 5 Key points to note when sending the email

1) Establish a connection by possibly mentioning something about what they do that is relevant to your business.
2) Talk about your business/idea , make sure you focus on the benefits and then the results also talk about the growth potential
3) A specific call to action would be an appropriate third note, you could ask them to check out your work and let you know what they think.
4) Follow up on your email, follow up but do not be a bother, always be courteous and professional.
5) Persistency will give you a response, it could be a ‘’yes’’, a ‘’no’’ or a ‘’maybe’’. The no may come with an explanation , and that is the feedback you are looking for!

These tips are the kind that work, raising capital is not about trial and error, but a systematic approach to achieving what you need.

In the program Think Finance, you will get information important and key principles that will help you achieve success faster.

Remember Think Finance is open now and will close very soon,
Click on the link to register.

FREE WOMEN TRAINING- Raising Capital

This training on how to apply for, and raise chances chances of winning $5000 TEF grants held on the 3rd of February, 2018. 

Watch the video here

How to raise your chances of wining $ 5000 TEF business grant Part 1

How to raise your chances of wining $ 5000 TEF business grant Part 2 

How to raise your chances of wining $ 5000 TEF business grant Part 3

Contact us on +234 817 971 4138 or hello@thebusinessoutliers.com  for enquiries or questions. You can also reach us if you need professional assistance to review your grants application

Raising Capital For Your Business in 2018

Want you want to raise capital for your business in 2018? Please fill this form.  
Want to get ready for investment ?, Use our FREE Investment readiness tool.

#READTHIS
Last December, at the African Entrepreneurship awards bootcamp, which took place in Morocco, I met an amazing collection of extraordinary African entrepreneurs pitching for a total prize money of $1,000,000. Many of the businesses pitched were high growth and high impact businesses with potential to scale across Africa. 

Out of the 40 entrepreneurs that made the last round of the award, 12 won price money for their businesses. The awards won include Innovation award given to Moroccan company- Atlan Space® for developing artificial intelligence in drones to monitor ships and protect marine ecosystems. Environment award given to Nigerian firm- Vicfold recyclers for Innovative process to pelletize plastic products, as well as Environment award given to Ghanaian company- Green Afro palms for efficient palm oil cultivation methods for farmers. These entrepreneurs are proof that Africa is set for transformation, the kind that comes as a result of finding solution to problems around us.

As we begin 2018, opportunities for grants and investments begin to open up for SME’s to partake. As an entrepreneur with an idea, seed or startup stage project, you must position yourself to be ready for investment.

Being investment ready is not only a mindset thing, it involves taking a thorough look at your business and weighing factors like, your model, your sources of revenue, your route to market, even review of your internal structure and corporate governance is important. It is important to wear the investor’s hat and see through the kind of lens they use.

For an entrepreneur who has little experience in fund raising, putting all these together might sound a bit overwhelming. But, with the right kind of help and advice, it becomes easier with time. This is why I have put together a FREE Investment readiness tool It is a test to help gauge your business and qualify your level of readiness for investments.

 
Also, do you want you want to raise capital for your business in 2018? Please fill this form. You will get access to a personalized step by step guide on how you can raise capital for your business.

Join Think Finance Africa on Telegram here

Visit our website for more important details.

With Love,
Lawunmi

PS: Would you love to tell us about your business and how we can help you find the right funds for your business, Kindly write to us