Alternative Sources of Finance for Uganda: Mara Launch Fund
One of the alternative sources of finance for Uganda is the Mara Launch fund. For many Ugandans, particularly those starting out in business with only a concept, this is a good place to start.
Basic information
Target: Start ups and early stage businesses
Sector focus: All
Amounts provided: UGX 5,000,000- UGX 10,000,000
Funding type: Venture capital
Means, rather than providing a loan, the fund takes a % of shares in the company
Key criteria
Model can be repeated across Africa;
Profitable business within 3-5 years (exit period for fund);
Strong management
Further information
search online for “Mara Launch Fund”
Tel: +256(0)414 233 700/800
Who is behind the fund?
Ashish J. Thakkar; CEO,Mara Group;
Alex Rezida, Partner at Nangwala, Rezida & Co. advocates; and
Peter Mukiza, Managing Partner in Uganda for Quantum capital.
What is the process like?
1. Submit business plan should include information consistent with the key criteria for the fund.
2. Introductory meeting. If the fund likes the plan, the investor will meet the fund team.
3. Due means the fund “verifies” the information presented in the plan.
4. Term sheet. Document spelling out the basic terms and conditions.
My view/tips for success in accessing the funds for your business
1. Team:Venture capital funds like Mara know that a great team will develop and implement the idea successfully. If you have no internal capacity, have a professional join you so that your plan includes a strong team.
2. Executive summary. Investors are busy people and so … READ MORE ...
What is Manufacturing Financing?
The manufacturing industry as we know it is one of the most important and biggest industries in the world. In fact, it is so large that it has a value of over 2 trillion dollars, and is known to make up 11% of all the industries that exist financial though this is an industry that is very valuable and worth a lot of money, some manufacturing companies find it hard to keep financial sustainability. Financing is no doubt important for every industry, especially for manufacturing companies that have a lot of product production expenses. Financial organizations can be complex for manufacturers to keep up with since they have multiple factors that have a lot to do with funding. This includes completing purchase orders, paying bills to run the factory, buying essential tools and materials and of course running the projection of the machinery and equipment. Once all of this adds up, the price and total can make almost any manufacturing business feel pressured in their finances. But fortunately, there are ways that manufacturers can get help in their financial area so that they have balance in their business. Here are details about manufacturing finances and also how to get a loan for financial help :
First, What Is Manufacturing Financing?
If there is no excellent financial health when managing a manufacturing business, it is most likely that the manufacturing production will be unsuccessful. But the problem that most companies find with manufacturing is that others can come in very rapidly … READ MORE ...
Investor Presentation – Powerful PowerPoint Pointers
In an earlier article entitled, “The Investor Presentation – Your Chance to Set The Hook”, I talked about the importance of making an effective, compelling investor presentation. I mentioned that an investor presentation was an opportunity to make a great first impression, establish credibility and create trust. Today I would like to pass along some pointers that will help you do that. And remember, these pointers don’t just apply to investor presentations, they apply to any presentation.
Your slides should be used only for the purpose of supporting your verbal remarks. Your slides should not draw attention away from you. Again, they should support you, not complete with you for audience attention.
The best way to accomplish this is to keep the slides simple. Limit each slide to 3-4 bullets, use fonts that are large enough to be seen from a distance and contrast with the background of the slide.
Use as few words as possible on each slide. Try not to use industry specific jargon. You do not want to confuse your audience or leave them wondering what you are talking about.
It is important to use graphs, charts and images, but use them selectively. You will not achieve any of your business goals simply because of how clever you are at creating graphically pleasing PowerPoint slides. Also, don’t forget that the slides should be easily printable on a black and white printer.
Put energy and passion into your presentation. Have fun and relax and make your … READ MORE ...
How to Invest Into Initial Public Offering and IPO Investments
Are you wondering which portion of the current marketplace is the most profitable area of the market to place your funds? If you are searching for the areas of market that holds the most promise for investors, you should certainly be investigating the potential of initial public offering/IPO opportunities.
As you likely already know, IPO stocks present a very unique opportunity for anyone who is investing into the open market. If you have the opportunity to invest in one of these stocks, you will be able to purchase the investment before the rest of the market has found the opportunity to do so. For this reason, you can be sure you are entering the stock at a very good time, for the company is about to experience a fairly large surge in the amount of a recognition it receives from the overall marketplace.
Even though the IPO stocks are generally a fairly decent investment when it comes to the timing of your purchase, you should still investigate a few factors to ensure you are entering a valuable investment. The basic premise of your research will be based on uncovering whether or not the stock is being sold for two high of a price and whether or not the stock will increase in value over time.
As you may already know, IPO investments are often the most difficult investments to assess. On many occasions there is a limited amount of information relative to the company’s operations, as well as … READ MORE ...
Pursuing Your Trading Career In An Organized Way
Quite a lot of people want to become successful at trading, but are they capable of it? Do they even know how to achieve success? Of course, success might be sweet, but the journey isn’t always sweet. You would have to go through a lot of biting incidents before you enjoy the sweetness of success. However, this is not to discourage you but to make you understand that success isn’t as easy as all the scam websites portray. For example, the traders in the Hong Kong have achieved success, but if you ask for their stories, you will understand that they didn’t achieve the success easily.
Every successful story will have hard work, dedication, patience, and skills. Hence, you shouldn’t assume that success is easily achievable. Almost 90% of the naïve traders fail because they think success is simple. They enter the Forex market and get started with trading. But that’s not how trading works, you should learn before you trade. You should practice before you use the live account. Likewise, there are many essential things that you should take into consideration.
Your level of dedication defines your success
Once you earn success, you will feel that you deserve it, and that’s when you will understand that everything you did is right. When you enter start Forex trading, you will have an online trading accountwith no balance, but once you become successful, it would have a higher balance. You wouldn’t have earned that balance overnight. Rather, you would have … READ MORE ...