Funding: Raising Capital For Your Business Post COVID-19.

The outbreak of the novel virus Covid-19 has had a great impact on existing small businesses, especially in developing countries. SMEs in Nigeria have had to deal with anxiety over uncertainties that might exist after the crisis, challenges with cash flow, customer retention, and disruption in essential operation processes. Many have lost millions of Naira due to the economic implications caused by the pandemic, especially in industries that are customer facing.

However, in the midst of this, an array of companies has also sought out ways to raise finance to ensure their sustainability while also leveraging the relatively cheap opportunity to raise capital.

It is pertinent to note that of the many challenges faced by SME’s in Nigeria, the lack of finance is one begging to be solved. Statistics show that 80% of small businesses started in Nigeria fail within the first five years. This alarming rate of business failure is attributed to several reasons, the most commonly cited being insufficient capital, as well as poor access to credit facilities.

For a country suffering numerous infrastructural challenges, and a difficult business environment, the inability to raise sufficient capital presents itself as the deadshot to businesses. Credit facilities could have been a viable option, but this has not been the case.

A recent PWC survey has revealed that Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises do not rely on banks to meet most of their funding needs. For the MSMEs interviewed during the survey, bank loans are impossible to get mainly because of their bureaucratic application process and high interest rate. About half of the respondents (50%) admitted that they did apply for bank loans over the last 12 months, but never ended up taking them due to their high costs. The report also noted that high cost of capital is one of the major costs to business operations in the country.

Thus, to aid startups and budding small businesses, these are a few alternative ways in which business owners can raise the much-needed capital they require to start, sustain, and scale their businesses.

RELIEF FUNDS

The Nigerian government earlier in May had announced plans to establish an SME Survival Fund to sustain at least 500,000 jobs in ‎50,000 SMEs. The said funds will be targeting businesses in critically affected sectors such as hospitality, creative industries, road transport, tourism, and schools.

Interestingly, the plan states that these grants will be disbursed through microfinance banks and fintech credit providers. A three-month timeline has been earmarked for the disbursement of these relief funds and the scheme will be implemented through the Steering Committee on the MSME Survival Fund, the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Investment, and the Bank of Industry.

CROWDFUNDING

Crowdfunding is another popular way of sourcing for funds; it depends on a system of generating small investments from many sources. It is believed that it is easier to raise small amounts of money from many people than it is to raise huge sums of money from a few people.

Some of the different types of crowdfunding are – Donation, Reward-based, Debt and Equity Crowdfunding, which is one of the most recommended. With equity crowdfunding, investors give money to business owners in exchange for a percentage of ownership of the company; then after a window of time, the company repays the investors with interest in return. Most times the investors receive repayment or reward with interest within a designated period.

BOOBSTRAPING

Provided that your business isn’t operating in an industry that requires lots of startup capital, like manufacturing or transportation, you can potentially fund your own venture—and it may be more feasible than you think. Although funding the business yourself carries lots of risks, it is important to consider your potential. If you believe in the vision for your business, you should feel comfortable investing your own money in your business. It also encourages potential investors who are willing to partner with you down the line.

SME SUPPORT ORGANIZATIONS (ACCELERATORS & INCUBATORS)

In recent times, we have seen the rise of accelerators and incubators in the Nigerian startup and SME scene. Numerous small businesses have been beneficiaries of the support of incubators and accelerators, such as Fate Foundation, Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Foundation, CoCreation Hub, Google LaunchPad, Y Combinator accelerator programme, to name a few.

Incubators are companies that provide support services such as office space, electricity, and business management training to small businesses. While an accelerator is a program that gives companies access to mentorship, training, investors and the support they need in order to maximize their growth.

Four Lessons I’ve learnt in 2020- So Far…

Stay with the News- Do not let your business suffer

Suddenly, we were almost swept off by the unexpected visitor, Covid-19 took the world by surprise. Not even soothsayers could predict this pandemic, the men of God did not see this coming, we all watched the world grind to a standstill. Some say it is a scam, some say it was caused by 5G, others said it is an ultimate plan and scheme by some top guns. Well in all of these, no one say it coming and no one predicted this and the outcome globally.

The impact of the pandemic mixed with the power battle for oil prices caused some countries to suffer. Russia-Saudi Arabia started the price way which saw a dip in standards of living for many in countries that are heavily dependent on oil. Oil prices fell to its lowest rate in history. It became free at some point. This impacted heavily on businesses as most of them could not survive the shock at the same time. Borders were closed, so most businesses suffered immensely.

The lesson here is, although most of the points stated here are beyond our control, we should at least stay up to date with happenings. Make right decisions on how and when to buy, store space to keep stock etc. Stay up to date, stay current, this would help you stay proactive to change and how to adapt.

Learn, Learn, Learn- Never Stop

The lockdown taught me that time can come and go if not used judiciously would be a total waste. One of the most common phrases that surfaced this year is “New Normal”. Everything has been disrupted, call it “a scam” or “political” the world has been reborn and only those who prepared for it would partake in the new world.

Most people did nothing new all through the lockdown, but they expect to win, no new skill, no new degree, nothing. So, at the end when we all self-appraise, I worry what the outcome would be. Well, its not too late to start as skills are learnt as quickly as you can start. Make the most of every minute you have and grow. Learn and never stop evolving.

Teamwork makes the team work

Fear on What next? Worry about long ending online meetings, losing touch with the past reality? Getting used to the new normal? Well these are what we should expect. Digital is replacing analog, the new has taken over the old and teams are almost losing touch of their bonding.

Leaders have experienced some of these working from home. Dropped deadlines, slow delivery, unavailability of colleagues and many more. Dealing with this is draining, but good news is that you can create activities that would help your team stay in constant touch. As a supervisor, never be too rigid to tell jokes or use trending phrases while in an informal setting. Allow the tension out of the window with checking into their personal life, care about their families, and everything including work.

When you are fully involved, and you are accessible to your team members across different platforms means you can offer extra assistance if they are facing any challenge in handling issues.

Build a passion project

Most people have skills and talents that can fetch them money if only they monetize it. A passion project is an activity or enterprise that you decide to take on—usually in your spare time–to gain some benefit for yourself. That is, it is a challenge that you willingly embrace because you hope to gain something from it. Create profit out of what you do for fun.

In conclusion

In summary, things are getting back to normal and the new normal is becoming the norm. some businesses would struggle to stay on, however persistent would only carry us through. Learn more, save money, save money …save money and be judicious. Customers would come and there is need to understand them all round and know what they need especially at this time.

Whatever you do, please win… win….and stay safe

 

Human-to-human connections are the heart and soul of a business. Put simply, business occurs when an individual or group of people deliberately provide services that eases the life of another person in a profitable manner. A business is about solving problems, alleviating pain points, creating a rapport with consumers, and providing delightful customer experiences. Profit only comes when a sound business model is matched with a positive customer experience. At Credit Direct Limited, the knowledge of what business is truly about is what wakes us up daily, motivates us to join the early morning rush, sit in the road rage patiently with a simple purpose to arrive at the office as early as possible to serve our esteemed customers.

Our passion to serve is what propels the sales team to beat the torturous weathers of Sokoto, Gombe and Katsina States and meander through the slippery footpaths of riverine areas in Bayelsa and Rivers States in search of more Nigerians to solve their financial challenges. The joy and amazement on the faces of customers when they get credited with the requested loans within few hours is what motivates our management to workday and night strategizing new ways to make the business meet its promise and deliver a phenomenal experience to customers. Even though the Credit Direct team may get held up in traffic for long hours in Lagos, travel across the country to visit stakeholders or put themselves in harm’s way walking the streets up North seeking another customer to assist, our duty to serve and care for our customers brings fulfillment to everyone in our value chain.

At Credit Direct, we are a long chain of professionals, bond together by one mission – we enable Peace of Mind. The fact that majority of Nigerians still find it difficult to access credit at the point of emergencies motivates us to think deeply about how to solve this critical socio-economic problem. There are the loopholes to fill, there are openings to fix, there are needs to meet, and fortunately there is Credit Direct to meet those needs.

The Credit Direct Brand is all about meeting the needs of those who were uncared for and those with genuine need for money but could not be accommodated not because of any fault of theirs but because the neglect was widespread and deep, because the divide between the affluent and mass market was deliberate to ensure there is always a second class category whenever it is decision making time. Credit Direct continuously disrupt the space and does what a lot of people including experts believe and consider “IMPOSSIBLE” to achieve, what industry legends regarded as a definite loss of revenue and reputation if ventured into. In fact, when we started, 6 months our proposal stayed in the hands of top business executives and government officials and the verdict was “try this at your own peril” why was that the narrative and how did we change the narrative to a winning one? The answer is simple, because the idea was not for “profit” or “loss”. It was not set up for the Balance Sheet figures at the end of every financial year, it was not set up for big board meetings and extravagant Annual General Meetings, it was set up to put smiles on the faces of salaried employees who are real economic actors in the theatre called Nigeria. To bring peace and fulfilment to a father whose child laid on the sick bed and would not be attended to till he makes a deposit. For the mother who toils daily yet cannot afford to pay the fees of the child and he is driven from school on the first day of the third term examination just because her salary had not yet been paid. For the hardworking civil servant whose rent is due, and the landlord has pasted the eviction notice with a short timeline. Now those are the real heroes we were born to help, and yes, we have created a long list of promoters across territories who never knew their potentials till they got their loans on the same day and sometime instantly.

CREDIT DIRECT LIMITED LOGO

WHAT DO YOU VALUE MORE?

What do people usually value more than your money? You! Think about it. What takes greater effort – writing a cheque or giving of your time and energy? Which shows a greater level of commitment? Take a moment and recall the people who’ve had the greatest impact on you: a teacher who helped you realize you could think, learn and achieve; a parent who loved you, sacrificed for you and gave you the gift of self-worth; a mentor who painted a picture of your future then equipped and challenged you to reach for it.

Next to your salvation, what could be greater? Ponder these words: ‘When you come to look back on all that you have done in life, you will get more satisfaction from the pleasure you brought to other people’s lives than from the times you outdid and defeated them.’ Too many of us see giving as more than just an act of love – we see it as a transaction – we only give to get! Sir Wilfred T. Grenfell said, ‘It is obvious that man is himself a traveler; that his purpose in this world is not “to have and to hold,” but “to give and to serve”.

There can be no other meaning.’ It’s so easy to live only for yourself. In fact, it’s one of our most basic instincts – one we have to overcome each day. But we can take another path – to be generous with our love and our time. When you give those gifts, you’re being as generous as you can be!

 

UCB

MARRIAGE IS LIKE A CONDOM

The world is now so fantasized about the wedding industry that a lot of people fail to realize that after the lights go off, the camera shutters closes, the fanfare ends and the guests go home, then life starts, all the Instagram posts and the pre wedding shoots now remains in the past and reality kicks in. most people borrow to impress others during their weddings, and others risk it all only for the glamour of it.

While others made the most out of the pre wedding, wedding plans they forget all about the post wedding life, they begin the journey into sadness and depression.

While some waited to get married before they had sex and have a successful marriage. Some did not wait, and still have a successful marriage.

Some kept their marriage private, and have a successful marriage. Some kept it open and annoyed us with their public displays of unwanted affection, and still have a successful marriage.

While some engaged (sorry handcuffed) a lady for over 18 months, and have a successful marriage, some dated for 3 months and have a successful marriage, some have been in the dating game for too long like 10+ years and still have a successful not-marriage-relationship going!

While some are ok with being baby mama’s, others prefer their camera looks to remain intact and postpone child bearing till later.

While other get married and still have a connect with their ex’s, others jump to JORO to tell the world how they hump and rump just another guy they meet. Others claim they are the slay queens or they want to be slay queens.

Truth is that marriage is like a condom, one size does not always fit all and even when it manages to fit, sometimes it does not work.

Take your own pick in life, get and follow your heart and soul mate, and please spare us the details of your sex life and nasty details of cheating.

 

 

–Notes from Ofilispeaks

HOPE FOR TODAY

Hey Tweeps,

Once again I summon some guts to drop you a line and for a long time I wish I had done this but the writer’s block keeps holding me back.

I have been working hard on 3 new projects for the office and for my personal gains, yes it’s a year where you need to expand your coast and get things done as 2017 is still a turbulent year even as so many people toil harder to ensure they get a stable living. The odds remains against the average Nigerian who would battle daily for every basic amenity.

I ponder daily on the next steps for our dear Nigeria and wonder if it would ever get better for, the news of mayhem daily hunts us, from killings to kidnap, Naira fall to the dollar or police brutality. Recently I was thrown into fear with the news of a coup as I had earlier discussed with a colleague that I fear a repeat of the first coup in Nigeria which was character by mass looting and all what is happening today. We hear a lot about the recoveries made by EFCC and this brings tears to the eyes of the average Nigerian struggling for food and shelter.

We are expectant that the economy would eventually improve so there would be a bit of calmness in the country. It saddens me to know how much people spend to enjoy the basic amenities in life. I have to spend good money to power my house. The pain and anger of how sad things have gone just makes you cringe in fear of the unknown. I marvel at the level of mediocrity some youth have taken up. The sad part is there seems not to be a clear end to this as the more we go ahead, the darker it seems.

I would like to share some positive words here…

No matter how dark it is, there would definitely be morning, where it would all brighten up.

The past is gone and we only treasure today and hope a better tomorrow comes around sooner.

I hope for a better Nigeria where we move the world and change the way we are perceived.

Above all….stay positive and ensure to keep the light shining.

Cheers.

 

2017- WHAT DO YOU HAVE FOR US?

Dear Tweeps,

Welcome to 2017, it has been a long journey here today and yes I am sorry for leaving this page unattended to for months, you can say the pressures and demand of work has got the better part of me, you are so correct.

I’d say this again, welcome to my blog again and sincere apologies for the absence, It would certainly be better this year as I am starting off on a good foot. 2016 was a horrific year as many would say and to the best of my knowledge a whole lot of people have lost their jobs and the cliché now “The dollar is high” has taken over the airwaves thus we have lost the sense of our daily life, the economy is in a steady nose dive and all indices are not looking good, daily we hear news of millions of dollars looted by some of our leaders and you wonder how this country is still around amidst the mass looting.

I feel bad when I go out daily and the news is same, the dollar has hit all time high and very like Nigeria anything that goes up never comes down. So at this rate we are stuck on it.

From my previous post, these are the years of the biblical – years of lean, where we failed to save now we are reaping the fruits of failure to decide. Our leaders have failed to save, failed to invest, failed to plan for the future, now we are in the mess that seems to suck us all in.

Away from the failures of the leaders, this is the time to plan and position for the coming years of plenty, we would soon hit the boom and only the wise and the strategic would be the only set to partake in the boom, what are you doing now to prepare for the future? Are you still complaining and nagging about the old politicians? Are you still dwelling in the past and how the promises made are not been met? Then your world is slowly ticking away. Tomorrow is a factor of today’s decisions and when you make right decisions your tomorrow would be guaranteed.

Recession: Surviving the Years of Lean Cows, By Olu Akanmu

Nigeria’s recession, our own years of lean cows, is characterised by very high inflation, declining real wages and accelerating unemployment and underemployment. It manifests on businesses in three ways, which are the massive contraction of market demand, rationalisation of demand and the trade–down of market and product preferences as consumers shop for value. There are nine ways a business can respond to recession and pull through this challenging period.

“and the cows that were ugly and gaunt ate up the seven sleek, fat cows.” – Genesis 41:4

“and the thin heads of grain swallowed the seven healthy, full heads.” – Genesis 41: 7

 

This article discusses what businesses can do to pull through the years of recession. The years of lean cows are the years of famine akin to the years of economic recession. When Pharaoh dreamt, in biblical history, Egypt mobilized to prepare for famine or economic recession by building strong national reserves of grains in its years of boom and abundance. With such strong national reserves or savings of grains, the biblical Egypt of Pharaoh was able to minimize the impact of famine on its people even when it lasted for seven years. There was however a country whose Kings did not save its grains in its years of fat cows because these Kings did not dream; they had no vision and lacked foresight. When famine, the years of lean cows, came, there was limited supply of grains available in the country. Grains became so scarce that there were long queues of citizens to buy the limited quantity of grains available from the national warehouse.

The King, out love for his people, decreed that the now scarce and limited national grains should be sold to the people at the same price or close to the price they used to buy in the years of fat cows. Grains had, however, become more valuable in that country because of its limited supply in the now years of lean cows. The queues for grains were so long that millions of the citizens who wanted the scarce grains were willing to pay far higher prices than the official price decreed by the King, reflecting the true value of the scarce grains. This created very significant rent-seeking opportunities in the sales of the scarce national grains. A citizen would also need to be well connected to access the grains even if they are the most economically efficient user of the scarce national grains. This was because the queues for grains were so long that no one was certain when it would get to their turn if they stayed on the queue, as the supply in the national warehouse got depleted.

As the grains supply got depleted by the day, their value to the citizens increased at higher premiums to the King’s official price. The state was now selling its grains at old prices, lower than their real value, at far lower revenue, which constrained its ability to replace the stock of grains it had sold, such that the national grains reserves began to fall rapidly, creating even further scarcity. Meanwhile, there were merchants in overseas countries where there had been good harvest of grains. Those merchants would like to bring in ships of grains to the country to sell in very large quantities. They could see the demand from the scarcity in that country but they lacked the incentive to bring their ships of grains because they had to sell at that large quantity at the official decreed price, far lower than the true value of their grains. Therefore, there was very limited private supply of grains into that country to complement the limited supply of the King. The famine and recession therefore got worse and became unnecessarily prolonged beyond its natural course. Extrapolating this analogy, it is certain that if the biblical Joseph were Nigerian, he would have advised against an inflexible exchange rate policy in our current economic situation.

Nigeria’s recession, our own years of lean cows, is characterized by very high inflation, declining real wages and accelerating unemployment and underemployment. It manifests on businesses in three ways, which are the massive contraction of market demand, rationalization of demand and the trade–down of market and product preferences as consumers shop for value. There are nine ways a business can respond to recession and pull through this challenging period. The first is in re-engineering your product and services for value to keep them at affordable prices for consumers. Toothpastes and packages of consumer goods are now getting smaller to keep them at affordable price points. You can also take out the bells and whistles in your product to keep them at affordable prices. Bells and whistles are product ingredients that may be twenty percent of your cost and deliver only five percent value to your customers. By taking them out, you can effectively shave fifteen percent off your cost, making your product or service more affordable.

…find customers who can replace the import content of their product with your own local product. Today, retail chains, with their shelves getting empty because of their inability to import, are looking for local agriculture processed products to replace previously imported ones. Are there such opportunities in your own industry or in adjacent industries where you can become an effective, cheaper and available local substitute?

The second way your business can respond is to make your route to market more efficient. Find partners who have a wider market reach and plug into their platforms. It will be cheaper than doing it yourself, especially if you are a small business and your scale is small. You may, for example, plug into established digital and e-commerce aggregation platforms to reach a wider market while developing your own websites for more people to reach you at a lower cost. The third way is to find if there are new value segments emerging in your industry or market because of the recession. Enter such value segments early to colonize and dominate them. Such emerging value segments will be usually small and may not be able to accommodate more than one or two brands profitably. The first brands to get in are the ones who can build a minimum profitable scale, while the third and fourth will have very little market left to harness.

Fourthly, your business can identify markets, sectors or segments that are resilient and realign your commercial investments around them. Despite the famine in Isaac’s time in the book of Genesis, Isaac sowed and prospered because he had the skills of finding wells in dry and famine ravished lands. Identify your more resilient markets and realign your commercial investments to focus on those need or geographic segments. The fifth way your business can respond is to rationalise your product scope, offering and store-keeping units, to make them efficient in line with market reality. Are there products or product lines that consume twenty percent of your working capital but deliver only five percent of revenue and have done so stagnantly over a long period? Such product lines are candidates for rationalization to make your commercial programme more efficient. You must however be careful to preserve your core strengths and market advantages, even as you rationalise your offerings to ensure you can take full advantage of next market upturns when the economy gets out of recession.

The sixth is to increase the local content of your product to make your business less forex dependent. This also ensures that you can keep your prices affordable. The seventh way is to find customers who can replace the import content of their product with your own local product. Today, retail chains, with their shelves getting empty because of their inability to import, are looking for local agriculture processed products to replace previously imported ones. Are there such opportunities in your own industry or in adjacent industries where you can become an effective, cheaper and available local substitute? The eighth way is to run tactical promotions to stimulate demand. Lotteries and lottery-leveraged initiatives interestingly become more appealing to mass market customers as economic situation bites harder. The ninth way your business can respond to recession is to explore export opportunities for your products, which will give amplified local currency returns even at relatively small scale.

Best wishes to your business in the new-year.

Culled from the Premium Times

EMPOWER THE CORPS (ETC) a CDL initiative

Introducing Empower The Corps (ETC) a product of Credit Direct Limited (a member of FCMB Group Plc) which provides quick loans to NYSC corps members while in service. Are you a serving Corps Member accepted in your Place of Primary Assignment (PPA) and you need to urgently attend to some financial needs like start a small business, buy white goods for your room, pay rent, obtain a certification, attend a training, and learn a new skill or some other financial obligation? Look no further!

The Empowering The Corps (ETC) scheme has got you covered.

 

ETC Business Starter Package