Interesting, but I hope it is not going to die at the level of mere speeches. There seem to be no ground rules and no concrete means of meeting, especially for those outside Lagos. How do you/the group intend to build trust?

Desanta: Interesting, but I hope it is not going to die at the level of mere speeches. There seem to be no ground rules and no concrete means of meeting, especially for those outside Lagos. How do you/the group intend to build trust?

Oh no this is not dying at the level of speech.
About the meeting, it would have to be in Lagos at first, for those outside Lagos we would have to communicate via e means for the time being. About building trust i have a couple of ideas i would want to discuss when we meet.

But then again the meet is aimed at finding solutions to most of the questions that may threaten the existence of this concept, am not a know it all, i am very very very open to better ideas on how to proceed.

There are newer case studies for crowd funding by the hour almost literally.

Just now on my timeline this Forbes piece came up.

"WONDER DRINK EXPLODES ON CROWD FUNDING CAMPAIGN"

www.forbes.com/sites/karstenstrauss/2013/05/31/wonder-drink-explodes-on-crowd-funding-campaign/?utm_campaign=techtwittersf&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social

I would give a summary.

A guy wants to launch an alternative to classic meals, and his intent is that proper body nutrient requirement may be best delivered through a powder that could be made into a drink with the addition of water.

His argument is that cooking sucks (i agree) and takes time (i agree again) and people end up eating junk food just trying to fill their bellies. So he designed a drink that would contain all the required nutrients the body needs. So with the drink you wont need food and your body's nutrient need would be adequately met.

So he went on one of the crowd funding platforms with the aim of raising 100,000USD, and a little over 1 week into his 4 week campaign he has raised almost 400,000USD.

Financial Regulatory Bodies like the SEC work under the assumption that the majority of people do not have the understanding of the complexities of investment and should therefore be protected from making investment decisions. Options like shareholding becomes one of the few options available to them.

But this is my argument. An idea like the drink would not have seen the light of day based on this same institutions that have been created to give light to new ideas. These institutions are unbearably bureaucratic at best and at worst completely unresponsive.

People should have a right to waive this protection and decide for themselves with the guidance of expert hands and all other type of risk management innovations which business, concept, idea or cause they would like to follow in.

Is it always going to be successful, heck NO, but is it not worth giving a shot?

Just found out some new information and am very excited. It begs the question, why has this not been done?

All the factors to make this happen are literally right in front of us.

I would soon send out emails.

There is nothing like an idea whose time has come, and the time for crowd funding is here people, and we are going to do it RIGHT.

Emails have been sent.

Let us begin.

MAIL ACKNOWLEDGED. Thanks for your mail,bro.Let the work start.'Entrepreneurs' brigade'.Let's get our plans on paper with milestones,so we can track our progress even if it is by crawling to achieve our goal.But i know with our unrelenting contributions,success is very near.

Just came across this thread and I must commend the op for opening this. This shows that there are still some intelligent minds on nairaland though they are in the minority. Keep up the good work dude.

@charcoalbalq:mail acknowledged.

Thanks for the replies, your enthusiasm drives me. It is a rare thing to find like minds.

We begin asap.
Been busy fine tuning the plan. We would all be meeting at a time agreed by all of us.

Thanks again.

lynx200: Just came across this thread and I must commend the op for opening this. This shows that there are still some intelligent minds on nairaland though they are in the minority. Keep up the good work dude.

Thanks a lot, really appreciate it.

Hmmmm...

Send email to nahinbdis@gmail.com.

Am bringing to the table my legal training as well as knowledge of risk management and financial analysis.

nahinbdis: Send email to nahinbdis@gmail.com.

Am bringing to the table my legal training as well as knowledge of risk management and financial analysis.

Awesome!!

Would do that asap.

Thank you.

Very interesting topic.
@charcoalblaq keep up the good work. I'm an entrepreneur and I manage a small scale manufacturing business. I'm interested in this topic. I've been making efforts to get venture capital funding for the business for some time and it's been very challenging.
I've attended networking events and discussed with people.
These are the challenges I discovered:
There s a lot of hype about IT or internet related businesses. Some VC's in Nigeria only fund tech related start ups so guys like us involved in production have less options. I love tech related businesses but I want 2 encourage VC's to consider other industries. In Manufacturing for example, we employ a lot of people and add a lot of value to the economy.

Another unpleasant trend is that some VC's in Nigeria only invest in big or already established businesses. I have names but don't want 2 mention them here. The result is that the SME's really do not have where to go.
Then it is important to note that VC funding is not a part of our business culture here in Nigeria so there's need for a lot of enlightenment and re orientation on the part of the entrepreneurs and the potential investors.

As I said earlier I've been searching for VC investment for some months and it's been a very interesting experience.
I also love the concept of crowd funding. I beleieve it will work in Nigeria if we get things right.
I will love to be a part of this discussion and also participate in the meetings etc. My email:
witsoftng@gmail.com

@Mr Sage.

You spoke the truth and i empathise with businesses like yours that are deemed "unsexy", not tech related and too small to gain the attention of venture capitals or other financial institutions. It is based on this FACT that this concept is needed, it is based on this fact that properly managed this concept would excel.

I am glad you have chosen to be part of the discussion. I would send you a mail.

Mail received

I have a strong believe in this project. Seun, have you gone through this thread at all?

Count me in @ akinbobola.olawale@yahoo.com

dwizy: I have a strong believe in this project. Seun, have you gone through this thread at all?

Count me in @ akinbobola.olawale@yahoo.com

I count you in sir, thank you.

pple who fight against creative ideas? Oh God wat is wrong wit we nigerians? Hw can someone see wat is good for himself n for others n witchhunt? Probably out of jealousy or greed.But listen up Blaq n y'all my creative brodas,i doubt if SEC wil willingly approve of Crowd funding.i wil tel u why

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babymakaveli: pple who fight against creative ideas? Oh God wat is wrong wit we nigerians? Hw can someone see wat is good for himself n for others n witchhunt? Probably out of jealousy or greed.But listen up Blaq n y'all my creative brodas,i doubt if SEC wil willingly approve of Crowd funding.i wil tel u why

It does not matter what the SEC says when the people would willingly waive their right to the "protection" they provide in lieu of greener pastures. Since it is not illegal to start a business or be part of a business the SEC is aware of the gray area that is crowd funding, "family and friends" is a usual option for start ups. So long the people are not being deceived by high return on investment or any short term return on investment and the initiative does not take the cover of a licenced fund manager it would have no problems with the SEC.

A major disclaimer should put us in the clear.

Mail me here-lindabryan89@yahoo.com

Gazzy88: Mail me here-lindabryan89@yahoo.com

I did already, but i would resend. You should get it anytime now.

Hello,

I have thought about this subject for sometime now and even contemplated a Doctorate research in this area. Crowdfunding is very possible in Africa and I believe that it is about time we start working on alternative funding models in Africa. Our Banks are infatuated and obsessed with short term businesses, making funding of long term project and ideas difficult. But this is the reason why guys talents are wasting all over Africa.

Crowd funding is has economic, social and political consequences in Africa - hence plans for this project must take regulators and stakeholders into considerations because they will be quick to jump into action to oppose the idea. Having said that, I believe that crowd funding can be done in Africa because it has always been there. A far as I know, the Yorubas call it Ajo and it is call Stokvel in South Africa.

@charcoalblaq - Thank you for championing this thought. I will be glad to invest effort and resources into the idea because it can potentially change the lives across our continent.

Regards
kayode@epignosis.co.za

Thank you Mr Ayankayode. Your support and understanding of the major gap this initiative bridges is the reason it would survive.

I look forward to working with you.

Good day all,

I stumbled onto this post quite by mistake and confess that I don't regret that action.
First let me congratulate everyone for the faith and open mindedness that seems to be found on this post. It is rare that one comes across people willing to contemplate the future.
Also I am actively in support of any idea that gives power to the masses to shape their future directly without depending on government, economy or any other variable that they do not directly control. Finally creative thoughts as these that are around here and the various intelligent contributions have so far shown that we still have some faith and hope for the country in-spite of all.

By way of introduction my name is Chinedu and until the end of last year; I worked for a payment processing company (formerly valucard but now called unified payments ). I have decided to pursue my life long ambition of self employment especially in the domain of value added services.

To this end I would like to add a few words to the general discussion and also indicate my interest.
Typical crowd sourced funding lowers the entry barrier and access to funds for most who utilize this approach but the requirement of due diligence helps to minimize bogus projects.
As has been mentioned in various comments; the requirements for categories will also create a means to organize projects accordingly and determine their variability using different yardsticks for assessment.
One can also consider the model to incorporate features for several other models such as incubation hubs, venture funding and angel investment, investment clubs and a host of others.
Depending on the requirement of the partners or founders; there is either a focus on the selection of ideas that have proven merit and will meet viability if released as products or services.

These products should support multiple revenue opportunities and should have the ability to be repurposed for other products or services.
I am VERY interested in the proceedings of this tread and look forward to the exchange of ideas and eventual participation if permitted. As it stands please consider this as an application.
Like I mentioned above I have worked in the card payment space for a little over six years; there are quite a few skills I can add to the mix of creative talents already on display.
My email address is: chinak2001@gmail.com

Once again, thank you for the very important strides made here and the various contributions.

Very impressive Mr Chinedu. I would definitely love to work with you. Expect my email soon.

charcoalblaq: Emails have been sent.

Let us begin.

creating an email addy (for this thread?), and adding it to your signature, might be a better option for those of us who are interested, but cannot litter the internet with our email addresses. especially if there arises the need to extend the life of this thread beyond this space.

till then, i guess we'll just have to make do with watching from the sidelines.

good initiative though.




.

i know of some crowd funding websites in USA but this is the first am hearing about it in Nigeria. I would be happy to join in the program or movement??

Bros, i hail ooh. Na ya boy 2sexy... Migwo!

yamakuza:
creating an email addy (for this thread?), and adding it to your signature, might be a better option for those of us who are interested, but cannot litter the internet with our email addresses. especially if there arises the need to extend the life of this thread beyond this space.

till then, i guess we'll just have to make do with watching from the sidelines.

good initiative though.




.

@CharcoalBlaq

I skimmed through most of what you wrote because I'm pretty familiar with the companies you spoke about. As such, it's not clear to me if you're trying to create a hybrid of a business incubator center and crowd funding source, are you?