SME Financing

From VC4Africa: Overcoming the Access to Financing Challenge

We hear it all the time here at the EE - when we ask entrepreneurs of various levels, what challenges they face regarding their small business, "lack of access to finance" comes up almost immediately. There simply isn't enough funding, or viable platforms to apply for funding, to meet the demands of SMEs. But that's just one side of the story. To better understand the issue from the other side of the table - the Funders/VC side - investors in the VC4Africa community were recently asked, ‘What is the biggest challenge that comes with investing in the African space?’ View the poll results and an excerpt from the article after you click.

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Investing in and Growing Your Business

Any small or medium sized business (SME) that wants to survive in this financial climate must understand that its founders and management need to invest in the venture first and this does not only mean financial investment. They must carry out their due diligence and spend time researching the market in order to create a niche for their enterprise. Before this stage is complete approaching a private equity or venture capital house is really a waste of your time and theirs. Read more

Reduce your expenses

Even a small decrease in your expenses has the potential to positively affect your profits and translate into growth. But how do you reduce your expenses without making any radical changes?

You can do this by making small adjustments to the following three expenses: Read more