Are you looking for capital to start a new business or grow an already established business in Africa?
Have you
tried other alternatives and sources of funding but failed? Is capital your
biggest headache and obstacle right now?
Smile,
I’ve got good news for you.
As part
of the research for our book, 101 Ways To Make Money in Africa, Dr. Bokrezion and I put
together one of the largest and most detailed information on 50 Organisations
that focus on and provide millions of dollars of funding to entrepreneurs and
businesses in Africa every year.
The
problem is, not many people know about these opportunities.
In this
article, I want to introduce you to a few of these interesting organisations.
Whether you’re looking for a grant, loan or investment in your business idea or
company, you should be knocking on the doors of organisations like these.
However,
attracting funding from these organisations is not automatic. There is a method
to it. But it’s not impossible, and in this article, I’ve included real-life
examples of African businesses who have successfully attracted funding from
these organisations.
To successfully
attract funding, there are several important strategies you need to know and
apply. And all of these strategies and opportunities are covered in my upcoming FREE course.
Let’s
meet these amazing organisations…
1. Seedstars Africa
Seedstars
Africa is a
member of Seedstars Group, a Swiss-based venture builder that is active and
invests in 35+ countries around the world especially in emerging markets in
Asia, South America, The Middle East and Africa.
Through
Seedstars World, its popular, highly competitive and exclusive startup
competition for startups in emerging markets, the company is able to identify
promising companies to support with capital and technical help.
In 2014,
Seedstars invested $330,000 in SimplePay, a young Nigerian third-party
payment processing company that created a solution to disrupt payment services
in Nigeria and Africa.
2. African Women’s Development
Fund (AWDF)
The AWDF is the first pan-African
women’s grant maker in Africa. Since the start of its operations in 2001, AWDF
has provided $17 million in grants to 800 women’s organizations in 42 African
countries.
The AWDF
is an institutional capacity-building and programme development fund, which
aims to help build a culture of learning and partnerships within the African
women’s movement. In addition to raising money and awarding grants, the AWDF
will attempt to strengthen the organisational capacities of its grantees.
The AWDF
only awards grants to organisations, not individuals. It awards grants ranging
from $8,000 up to $50,000.
3. Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship
Program
Now in
its second year, the $100 million Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship
Programme (TEEP) is an annual programme of training, funding and mentoring,
designed to empower the next generation of African entrepreneurs.
Founded
by Mr. Tony Elumelu, the successful Nigerian entrepreneur and philanthropist,
the fund seeks to identify and support 1,000 entrepreneurs from across the
continent each year over the next decade.
Each
successful participant in the program gets an initial seed investment of $5,000
after a 12 –week mentoring program. Another $5,000, structured as equity or an
affordable loan, is also given to participants who meet certain milestones.
Over the
next 10 years, the fund expects to support 10,000 start-ups and young
businesses selected from across Africa who will ultimately create one million
new jobs and add $10 billion in annual revenues to Africa’s economy.
The TEEP
Fund focuses on citizens and legal residents of all 54 African countries.
Applications can be made by any for-profit business based in Africa in
existence for less than three years, including new business ideas.
4. CDC
Founded
in 1948, CDC is the UK’s Development Finance Institution (DFI) wholly owned by
the UK Government’s Department for International Development (DFID). It is the
world’s oldest DFI with a history of making successful investments in
businesses which have become industry leaders.
CDC
actively supports businesses throughout Africa and South Asia, and its
portfolio of investments is valued at over £2.5bn (year end 2013).
In
November 2013, CDC announced a US$18.1m investment into Feronia, an
agricultural production and processing business focused on palm oil plantations
and arable farming in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
5 African Development Foundation
(ADF)
The African Development Foundation (ADF) is an
independent Federal agency of the United States government that was established
to support African-led development that grows community enterprises by providing
seed capital and technical support.
USADF
connects community enterprises with capital and technical support. It helps
organizations and businesses in Africa to create and sustain jobs, improve
income levels, achieve greater food security, and address human development
needs.
In 2014
alone, the USADF gave out 336 grants worth over $50 million and impacted over
1.3 million people in Africa.
6. Acumen Fund
Acumen is a charity organisation
incorporated in 2001 with seed capital from the Rockefeller Foundation, Cisco
Systems Foundation and three individual philanthropists. The Acumen Fund
invests in entrepreneurs who have the capability to bring sustainable solutions
to big problems.
In May
2014, The Acumen Fund co-invested $1.5 million in Esoko Networks Limited
(“Esoko”), a Ghanaian-built technology platform that connects African farmers
to markets via mobile phones.
In
October 2014, Acumen announced a $1.4 million investment in SolarNow, a company
that sells and finances solar home systems in Uganda.
7. 88mph
88mph is a Seed Fund and
Accelerator that started in 2011 and currently operates out of hubs in Nairobi
(Kenya), Cape Town (South Africa), and Lagos (Nigeria).
88mph
funds only tech companies, with a particular emphasis on web and mobile products
and services. It currently has more than $1.5 million in funds for investment
in African tech startups.
Some of
its successful investments include:
- Baby Group – South Africa’s first online shop for new
parents and their babies.
- Byte Money – A mobile payment platform for the insurance
industry
- Ekaya – A
service that matches good landlords with good tenants
Its main
focus is to attract the best entrepreneurs, invest seed cash, and bring them to
a point where their businesses can grow independently, or be adequately
evaluated by angels and Venture Capital firms.
8. Investment AB Kinnevik
Based in Sweden, Investment AB
Kinnevik was founded in 1936 and is one of the largest listed investment
companies in Europe with total assets of $7 billion.
Over the
past few years, the firm has invested significantly in businesses in Africa.
Some of its most notable investments on the continent include: Millicom,
Tele2, Jumia, MTG, Rocket Internet, Iroko Partners and several
others.
AB
Kinnevik is a major investor in emerging markets. As a result, about 8 percent
of its portfolio consists of African businesses. It invests and focuses on
entrepreneurs and businesses in the following business segments:
Communications, Ecommerce & Marketplaces, Entertainment and Financial
Services & Others.
And there’s more…
There are
more organisations like these that have been giving, and continue to give
capital to entrepreneurs and businesses in Africa every year. The problem is,
many people don’t know about these funding opportunities.
Has
capital been a challenge and headache for you?
Is
capital the reason why your brilliant business idea has still not taken off?
Have you tried other sources of capital (like banks) but failed to get any
funding?
In the
course, I’ll reveal:
- Names and Contact
Information of Over 10 Organisations That Can Give Up To
$200,000 in Funding To Support Your Business
- The Top 10 Sources of
Capital for Funding Your Business, And Success Stories Of African
Entrepreneurs Who Have Successfully Used Each To Attract Funding For
Their Businesses
- The 4 Main Categories
That Investors And Funding Organisations Use To Classify Businesses That
Approach Them For Funding; Knowing This Alone Will Significantly
Boost Your Chances Of Attracting The Right Investors;
- The Top 5 Things
Investors, Lenders And Funding Organisations Look For Before They Actually
Fund A Business;
- And Several More Amazing
Tips, Information And Advice That Will Increase Your Chances Of
Attracting Funding For Your Business.
You’ve
got nothing to lose. The course is totally FREE. As long as you have an
internet connection, you can attend the course using your mobile phone, tablet
or computer.