Entrepreneur

Are you an entrepreneur/inventor with an idea?

Do you run a small business that you are ready to take to the next level?

Your small business is a big deal. Let us help you plan for success by utilizing powerful financing tools like crowd funding, loans and venture capitalists that offer start-up and expansion financing.

Our Typical Process involves:

1.  Strategic analysis of the proposed company and industry.

2.  Structuring your business or organization to make it more attractive to investors/lenders.

3.  Determining appropriate valuation and/or capital structure.

4.  Identifying the target investor/lender type.

5.  Drafting private placement memorandum with strategic analysis.

6.  Approaching investors/lenders and helping in final negotiations.

7.  Close transaction.

8.  Post-transaction monitoring.

Submit your business application and proposal to Zambian Entrepreneur. If approved, Zambian Entrepreneur will not only help with the strategic analysis of your business, but we will also help you seek capital from multiple sources, including, but not limited to the following:

1) Silent Private Placement:
Inventors and entrepreneurs with viable business proposals and products, or existing businesses, will be matched with potential investors that become silent partners/owners in the enterprise.

2) Active Private Placement:
Inventors and entrepreneurs with viable business proposals and products, or existing businesses, will be matched with potential investors that can play an active role in the management of the enterprise - this would appeal to entrepreneurs/businesses looking for strategic partnerships.

3) Crowd Funding
Crowd funding describes the collective cooperation by people who network and pool their money and other resources together, usually via the Internet, to support efforts initiated by an entrepreneur. For example, an entrepreneur trying to raise $10,000 in capital can raise this money from a single source, 10 sources putting up $1000 each, or 100 sources putting up $100 each (applicable to only certain types of projects).

4) Bank Loans:
Loans will be arranged for the enterprise from affiliated banks and financial institutions.

5) Private Placement Loans:
Very similar to bank loans, but the source of the funds are from private individuals/ companies who are paid back their principal with interest.

6) Scholarships/Grants:
These funds are donated to socially responsible or worthwhile projects.  The source of funds may come from NGOs, corporate sponsors, or fund raising events arranged by Zambian Entrepreneur or a co-operating partner.

Combination of financing options:

In certain cases, a project can utilize more than one of these financing options to create a business with a diversified capital structure, which is a common approach. For example, Zambian Entrepreneur may be representing a company working on raising capital for a project to construct a small machine heavy manufacturing company. The capital required is $100,000. Multiple private investors may come together as a board of directors and form the company with a combined investment of $30,000. An additional $10,000 is obtained via a private placement loan paying a fixed rate. The remaining $60,000 comes from a loan from a partnering bank.

ELIGIBILITY

It is important to note that the businesses/projects seeking capital do not have to be located in Zambia. The criterion is the business must be established in Zambia (implying a foreign entrepreneur could own the business) or created by Zambians (implying a Zambian owned business located in a foreign country).

SUBMITTING YOUR APPLICATION

Please complete the following application as best as possible.


Questions & Answers

What is the strategic analysis of my business?

The strategic analysis goes beyond a business plan. It explains the business and its potential, and spells out the terms of the deal. No two strategic analyses are alike. In dealing with partners, it has to pass the standard from several viewpoints. As a marketing document, it must be concisely written, interesting, and with thematic focus. As a business document, it must be logically consistent so that marketing, production, organizational and financial policies hang together in a focused strategy. As a legal document, it must contain full disclosures and an appropriate financial structure. As a financial document, the numbers have to work out for the investor. Zambian Entrepreneur’s responsibility is to help you create a strategic analysis of your business.

How do you target the investors?

By the time we finish the strategic analysis, we also have a clear idea of the investor profile. How much money do we want? How important is control? Who can help us grow the best? How much does the capital cost? What method will create the best capital structure? We then prepare a list of potential partners. We have a pretty good network of contacts, and supplement this with our proprietary database of corporations and institutional investors.

What happens when investors or corporation express interest?

Usually, there are multiple meetings. They want to meet you and/or your management team and understand the special magic of your ideas. This is where a well-written strategic analysis pays off. Any deal has to pass several hurdles: product, technology, marketplace, finance and strategic fit. If somebody gets through a well-crafted strategic analysis, they are coming to see you for the right reasons and to try and earn a piece of your business. We can then focus on resolving issues that will go towards closing a deal.

What do you do once we are funded?

You and your partners/investors are on your own. But we hope to maintain a relationship with you to help with any future transactions you might have.

What kinds of businesses/inventions are you looking for?

We do not accept all entrepreneurs/companies as clients, nor are we looking for speculative businesses or fly by night concepts. We are primarily looking for the businesses that will become the Zambian businesses of tomorrow or existing businesses that are well managed. Our ideal profile is defined below:

  • Product /Service
    Is the product/service sufficiently differentiated from others to dominate its own niche? Is there broad patent protection already in place or a first-mover advantage? What need is the business addressing?
  • Sales Growth
    Is there potential for rapid sales growth once the product/ business is launched or expanded.
  • Management
    Is there already a strong management team in place, or else the potential to put one together quickly that can work together? Does the business have the skill sets to pull it off? How does the business address issues of corporate governance and instill a sense of confidence to its potential investors? Has management effectively identified and addressed the risks associated with their business?
  • Location
    Businesses located in Zambia or select businesses run by Zambians globally.
How do I protect my idea from being stolen or copied by a rival?

Whenever you make a decision to seek capital from third parties, you put yourself in a position where you are required to disclose detailed information about yourself and information about your business/idea. Zambian Entrepreneur takes strong measures to protect the privacy and ideas of its clients. However given the number of submission received, there are some similarities amongst the ideas received. If your business is not in existence and therefore publicly operating, there are steps you can take to protect your idea such as registering the business and website domains, obtaining patents and registering trademarks if possible, as well as not disclosing critical trade secrets about your business. For example if the invention is special type of soft drink, you can reveal the drink which is the product, but not the special ingredients that make the drink unique.