ccess to capital has always been a problem for small businesses in Nigeria. There is a consensus that the deepening of the small business sector can drastically reduce the high unemployment rate, leading to more far-reaching socio-economic development. In a bid to bridge this gap between small businesses and private capital owners, Boardroom Nigeria has introduced a venture financing portal. This portal can be accessed on www.capital2growng.com.

On this portal entrepreneurs can provide basic information about their businesses on www.capital2grow.com or through the Venture Financing link on the Boardroom website, www.boardroomng.com. There is also a user-friendly mobile version of the portal.

With access to investment and financing opportunities in Nigeria being one of its focus areas, the portal provides a platform for Boardroom to recruit and select small businesses to be matched with its network of private investors within and outside Nigeria. This will give entrepreneurs in Nigeria an opportunity to pitch their business ideas to investors willing to fund small businesses. There are two models for the investor-matching service; active matching/venture management and passive matching.

In active matching/venture management, Boardroom works with the business during the pre-funding stage, ensuring that the business processes are optimised and attractive to investors. There is also the option of post-funding venture management service, where Boardroom works with the business to ensure it makes optimal use of the funds. Sawubona Advisory Services Limited, Boardroom’s parent company, will provide venture management service.

In passive matching, Boardroom (through Sawubona Advisory Services Limited) only provides an opportunity for the small business to meet the investors, with no venture management commitment.