SOURCE OF CAPITAL FOR YOUR BUSINESS IDEA

Hey guys!

Its just the beginning of the year and its a good time to work on that business idea(s) you've got .

In your quest to bringing your business idea to a reality, I decided to contribute a quota by digging  and compiling possible sources of capital for your business .

There are so many opportunities out there both locally and Internationally that you can capitalize on.

Also, there is a special call to females to join the entrepreneurship world and so,  there are grants specifically for women. If I were you, I will seize this opportunity and begin the journey of writing my name in the sand of time.



1. Dangote-BOI N5bn Fund for Small Businesses

Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote recently partnered with the Nigeria’s Bank of Industry (BOI) to set up a N5 billion small and medium scale enterprises fund to grant low interest loans to entrepreneurs and small businesses in Nigeria. The fund is targeted at development of MSMEs across the nation with loans attracting only a 5 percent interest rate and a focused Bottom of the Pyramid Scheme to deepen access to the fund by entrepreneurs and micro enterprises. According to the Nigerian industrialist, “the funds are expected to impact directly on up to 13,000 registered groups in the country. Each group shall have an average of 20 entrepreneurs, this impacting the lives of up to 250,000 micro-entrepreneurs through job creation, spreading across all six geopolitical zones in Nigeria.”



2.Shell LiveWIRE

Since its inception in 2003, Shell LiveWIRE Nigeria has provided 2,748 young people with funding to start and grow their businesses, according to information on its website. This year, fifty young entrepreneurs from Rivers, Bayelsa and Delta States were awarded funding of N300, 000 by Shell LiveWIRE Nigeria to enable them to start up, or grow, their own businesses.

3. Business Fund for Women

Another entrepreneurship support program under Nigeria’s Bank of Industry is the N90 million-Business Development Fund for Women (BUDFOW), which focuses on women in business. Set up on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development (FMWASD), it provides soft loans to women entrepreneurs. So if you’re a young female entrepreneur why not access this funding opportunity?

4.Tony Elumelu Foundation’s $100m Entrepreneurship Fund

On the 1st of December 2014, Nigerian businessman Tony Elumelu announced the launch of a $100m Pan-African entrepreneurship initiative – The Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme – a multi-year programme of training, funding, and mentoring, designed to empower the next generation of African entrepreneurs. “I am determined to ensure that Africa’s next generation of entrepreneurs have the platform they need to turn their entrepreneurial aspirations into sustainable businesses that will drive economic growth and job creation across Africa,” says Tony Elumelu. Said to be the first initiative of its kind to be launched by an African philanthropic organisation, the fund is the largest African sourced philanthropic gift, targeting the entrepreneurial space.

The listed funding programs are by no means an exhaustive list of financial support programs in Nigeria’s entrepreneurship space. Programs like Mara Mentor, an online entrepreneurship community that connects young aspiring entrepreneurs and business owners to leading entrepreneurs also helps bridge the gap knowledge and expertise needed to run sustainable businesses. But if you have information about other funding and entrepreneurship support programs, kindly share details in the comment box below.
                                                                                                   
                                                                                             
                                                                                                      Culled from Ventures Africa


5. ENTREPRENEURS’ ORGANIZATION’S GLOBAL STUDENT ENTREPRENEUR AWARDS (GSEA) 2016 (US$20,000 PRIZE)


6. Global D-Prize For Aspiring Entrepreneurs ( $20,000 Grant Award)

7.Apply for the Kaduna Startup & Entrepreneurship Program

8. BUDDING ENTREPRENEURS PROGRAMME 2016




Let me leave you with this quote by  Thomas A. Edison which says " We often miss opportunity because it's dressed in overalls and looks like work".

Please read and share. You may be helping a friend.

Thank you as always.