@ theforce - angel investor is a type of venture capital, BUS 101,

I agree with all the other posts here which say that most of the big boys will only look @ multi-million dollar deals, In conclusion, given the Nigerian factor etc, the market is not just ripe for venture capital yet, maybe one day someone will have the balls to become the next Georges Doriot and raise an army of enterpreneurs ( cos we have tons of them in Nigeria)

@ Tolulop001 - I have checked the website and there does not seem to be anywhere to send pm messages maybe we can keep in touch via email? keep the hustle.

Why did my post not show up

wonderful ,i fit come dey lean here.I thought NO V.C for 9ja o.
well we thank God for that.

@theforce How does one join the network and how do you QC the plans sent to you? whats your criteria?

Yeah there are but the probability of being funded to be sincere is very slim.

Here is a list of Venture Capital firms that operate in Nigeria naijastartups..com/2010/06/venture-capital-funds-for-nigerian.html

davidif:

No, but most innovation comes from universities and research institutions. Look at California, they have one of the highest concentrations of VC's in the world because California has some of the best universities and research institutions in the world. Have you forgotten that one of the richest companies in the world, Google was started at Stanford by two PhD students who were writing there thesis on search engines.

My point to you is that VC is not only about investing in innovations.

It is about investing in start-up businesses which does not necessarily have to come from universities.

They might invest in a theme-park, a juice company, a farm, a supermarket chain, a website, a music label. All these do not require uni scientists, an ordinary man can do it.

Very true, and as far as Nigeria is concerned, they mostly invest in Oil companies and Telecom operators, NOT innovations.

Haven read all of the posts, I think there is a little of confusion between venture capital and private equity. Although both are forms of alternative investments, they operate on different levels. I think the poster wanted someone to fund a new business venture that is the main difference between VC and PE. VC helps entrepreneurial companies grow from the ground up and in the process taking a stake in that company. VC can be backed by either internal management money or through limited partners.

PE on the other hand invests in already established business or distressed business, pumps in capital, restructures and sells or take it public.

For aspiring entrepreneurs, most PE firms will not even look @ ur biz plans just because you don’t have anything solid on ground. VC are made to take more risks.

The long and short is that there are lots of PE firms in Nigeria, but less VC, take note when writing you biz and seeking funds. Just my 2cents.

A society driven by contract mentality can hardly produce venture capitalist

@bigben - angel investor is NOT a type of venture capital, BUS 101,

An angel investor or angel (also known as a business angel or informal investor) is an affluent individual who provides capital for a business start-up, usually in exchange for convertible debt or ownership equity.

Venture capital (also known as VC or Venture) is provided as seed funding to early-stage, high-potential, growth companies and more often after the seed funding round as growth funding round (also referred as series A round) in the interest of generating a return through an eventual realization event such as an IPO or trade sale of the company. To put it simply, an investment firm will give money to a growing company.

The Network is a Network of Investment Clubs that focuses on just a few areas. We meet, scrutinise pitches and 2/3 majority agree on the proposals that we would invest in. The real problem is most Nigerians want to own 100% of their business even if they have nothing but the Idea.

The truth is, it is better to own 5%- 10% of a business that kicks off than 100% of a business that is still on paper years after you got the idea. Send a mail to theforceworks@gmail.com and you would get details.

Thank you

what kinda business with 2 to 5 million, with the sectors, u mentioned?, not convincing.

@ theforce

Again i repeat that angel investor is a type of VC, what happenes to a rich individual that starts up a VC shop and when he is the sole owner (general partner and limited partner)? terminology might be different but concept is the same, not trying to compare dick sizes just laying out fact,

well good luck with ur fund hopefully u can raise an army of enterpreneurs that the country dearly needs.

try this site www.greatbooks.350.com

Seriously guys, while there are tonnes of good ideas out there that actually CAN succeed, most entrepreneurs, Nigerian or otherwise, simply do NOT pitch properly. I believe that's the major issue we've got here. There's no way you can go meet up with a VC firm or even a serious angel investor without a strong biz plan, pro-forma financials and a scenario analysis that shows how investments can be protected and recouped. At this point if you aint got an idea of the IRR, MIRR, NPV or FCFF of your business better grab someone that can help you out, As someone mentioned earlier investors get a tonne of good ideas everyday so you better bring your A game when you're out money hunting, and we need to stop bitching as if this is a "Nigerian" situation, it's tough to get seed capital or first round financing no matter where you are!

Unfortunately we do have poor intellectual property rights but if as an entrepreneur you take the time to learn and find "ethical" capital you can still protect your investment even here in Nigeria.

On a last note if your business aint gonna have a value of close to billions in the medium to long term don't even bother with PE/VC just try to find a business angel a la the Dragon's Den peoples

Oh and on a side note, if anyone out there needs a tight financial model to back up their biz plan (and if you're serious u WILL need this) then give me a shout and we can work something out, a brother's gotta make some paper on the side
hehehe

If your your investment is real estate and turnkey in nature, we can arrange the financing, interest-free to the tune of over N1bn.
Contact:daniel/henry, 08033259595,08055342735, website:www.cxploitsltd.com, email:info@cxploitsltd.com

@LAWUYI dont mind getting your contact number ,it would be good to network on this.

sincerely, this thread has really given me much insight.

I thank the poster for bringing up this issue, as there are many entrepreneurial venture that have died due to lack of funding. What is all about this Nigerian factor?
Personally, i and a friend started a business late last year, still in business anyway. My point is that we have used up our sweat capital up to the point where we feel we need external investment to carry on and secure some things.

Actually, we are a business in the dot.com industry.
If as an angel or venture investor you think you can help, pls send me an email: aybanky@gmail.com

@ bigben431
@ Tolulop001
Thanks for your valuable insight on this tread ,
I am UK based and tempted to believe that it should be cheaper- if not easier to source funding in UK or the States for a Real Estate Project in Nigeria. Any thoughts?

Times without number we might have found ourselves at difficult financial positions which could be eerily frustrating and embarrassing to some extent.
Brilliant business ideas, unprecedented market opportunities that even a blink will see whisked away, untimely SOS calls such as school fees for your kids,their monthly pocket money,or emergency cash calls from relatives. Unbelievable market offers at cash strapped periods especially when pay day is still a couple of weeks out is always frustrating and mostly negates growth. Securing loan from friends, neighbours or colleagues could often lead to disappointment and turning towards banks that would demand all sorts of collateral and documentation to secure a paltry loan could leave you drained and more still,opportunity lost.
Neocash finance enterprise is an emergency fund rescue option proffered to help manage and salvage the above mentioned situations and many more with uniform minimal interest rate on loans. For more info,call 07044891654

Bigooz

Secondly, I know about an IFC $20,000,000 facility appropriated for only Nigerian SMEs at a ridiculously low interests rate, but this would require an incubation or hand-holding support of a professional service firm that can help you provide the required criteria for fund access eligibility.


Please can you post more information on this IFC thing.

I have a group of investors who will finance good BP's with reasonable ROI, insight and market friendly ideas. If you are interested kindly forward an Executive summary. You can reach me on: mkmyers45@fwdeverglobal.com

I'm interested in knowing how VCs start up. Is there anyone around NL with actual VC experience? Not necessarily experience running a VC, even if you have worked with a real-life VC, I would like to learn some things.