The ecosystem around investing is changing rapidly and you as a founder needs to quickly adapt to the rapid changes to succeed in fund raising for your start up.

I have met many entrepreneurs who complain about difficulties of raising funds for their start ups,but in my mind i always assumed this was only limited to those who are not exposed to digital media,numerous funding mechanisms on offer or lack social networking skills which is like key to success in our country.
However after reading the report of a digital media campaign our company recently ran, targeting 25-34yrs old age demographic of start up entrepreneurs in Nigeria I had cause to change my mind,after I observed a consistent but worrying pattern cutting across the overwhelming requests from our responders.
You see while we had a mix of requests’ from people who needed sales and marketing help,writing business plans and the likes a clear majority of people who responded had challenges raising funds either to start their side or main hustle, or even scale up capacity for optimal growth.
For a casual watcher this might seem like an obvious challenge,until you pause to consider a lack of assistance from Govt agencies,Banks,Micro finance etc coupled with my interaction with some of these responders and research on the issue.

As someone who relocated back to Nigeria from the UK,i took the proactive and engaging UK Government support and grants for small business as a right not priviledge, not until I realised that lack of support for Nigerian start ups goes beyond just raising funds alone, but confronts challenges like a deficiency of information and support regarding critical requirements an entrepreneur must get right to raise seed funding from Angel/seed stage investors,Peer-to-peer lenders,Venture Capitalists even personal investors which falls under friends, family and Organisations that raise funds for start ups especially in the 3rd world.

I bet many of you who fall under the tag of #startupentrepreneurs have written countless proposals for funding but have been rejected multiple times, leading to frustration and a dilemma questioning what you did wrong.
-Do you know if your pitch was convincing to investors or it raised several red flags you were not aware of?
-were you even given constructive feedback or a condescending//patronising brush off?
Answers to these seemingly common innocuous questions can diagnose a whole lot regarding the reason for your rejection.

As a Business analyst and strategist of many years in the Uk,i have been opportuned to come across some of these organisations, attended seminars and also consulted for a few hence I have a lot of information and tips I intend to share with Nigerian start up entrepreneurs mainly on funding which I believe will benefit many and unlock their potentials.

In subsequent write ups tagged #Startupfundingfundamentals series I will be sharing tips in the following areas of fundraising for your start up.

-How to write a standard funding request/executive summary
-when is the right time to seek funding
-critical terms a start up entrepreneur must know e.g. letter of equity,post money safe,convertibles,equity.
-types of investor funding and which is right for you.
-How to convince an investor
-secrets to a winning pitch/presentation
-negotiations
-legal due diligence to protect your investment
In addition at a later date, I will share details of some international organisations funding African start ups across a variety of investment sectors.I hope you find the information I will be sharing subsequently useful for your business.
#UBUNTUAFRIKKABUSINESSSOLUTIONS
#Fundamentalsofstartupfundraising
#igniteyourhustle

Dalighieri:
The ecosystem around investing is changing rapidly and you as a founder needs to quickly adapt to the rapid changes to succeed in fund raising for your start up.

I have met many entrepreneurs who complain about difficulties of raising funds for their start ups,but in my mind i always assumed this was only limited to those who are not exposed to digital media,numerous funding mechanisms on offer or lack social networking skills which is like key to success in our country.
However after reading the report of a digital media campaign our company recently ran, targeting 25-34yrs old age demographic of start up entrepreneurs in Nigeria I had cause to change my mind,after I observed a consistent but worrying pattern cutting across the overwhelming requests from our responders.
You see while we had a mix of requests’ from people who needed sales and marketing help,writing business plans and the likes a clear majority of people who responded had challenges raising funds either to start their side or main hustle, or even scale up capacity for optimal growth.
For a casual watcher this might seem like an obvious challenge,until you pause to consider a lack of assistance from Govt agencies,Banks,Micro finance etc coupled with my interaction with some of these responders and research on the issue.

As someone who relocated back to Nigeria from the UK,i took the proactive and engaging UK Government support and grants for small business as a right not priviledge, not until I realised that lack of support for Nigerian start ups goes beyond just raising funds alone, but confronts challenges like a deficiency of information and support regarding critical requirements an entrepreneur must get right to raise seed funding from Angel/seed stage investors,Peer-to-peer lenders,Venture Capitalists even personal investors which falls under friends, family and Organisations that raise funds for start ups especially in the 3rd world.

I bet many of you who fall under the tag of #startupentrepreneurs have written countless proposals for funding but have been rejected multiple times, leading to frustration and a dilemma questioning what you did wrong.
-Do you know if your pitch was convincing to investors or it raised several red flags you were not aware of?
-were you even given constructive feedback or a condescending//patronising brush off?
Answers to these seemingly common innocuous questions can diagnose a whole lot regarding the reason for your rejection.

As a Business analyst and strategist of many years in the Uk,i have been opportuned to come across some of these organisations, attended seminars and also consulted for a few hence I have a lot of information and tips I intend to share with Nigerian start up entrepreneurs mainly on funding which I believe will benefit many and unlock their potentials.

In subsequent write ups tagged #Startupfundingfundamentals series I will be sharing tips in the following areas of fundraising for your start up.

-How to write a standard funding request/executive summary
-when is the right time to seek funding
-critical terms a start up entrepreneur must know e.g. letter of equity,post money safe,convertibles,equity.
-types of investor funding and which is right for you.
-How to convince an investor
-secrets to a winning pitch/presentation
-negotiations
-legal due diligence to protect your investment
In addition at a later date, I will share details of some international organisations funding African start ups across a variety of investment sectors.I hope you find the information I will be sharing subsequently useful for your business.
#UBUNTUAFRIKKABUSINESSSOLUTIONS
#Fundamentalsofstartupfundraising
#igniteyourhustle

Ok