Grants, loans, pitches, investment, applications… it can be a minefield to find funding for your business.
Are you trying to find funding and find it is a minefield?
What are the options available to you? Is it right for you? Are you ready for this? And how to make a good application?…
We bring you a series of 4 online workshops in June, curated and hosted by the “Inclusive Entrepreneurship NI” group.
Monday 5th June: Investment ready steady apply 12-1.30
Whats are the different types of investment options available?
Are you better to take on external investment or bootstrap?
We will hear from Grainne Kelly of Bubblebum NI on her funding journey and top tips from an internationally successful entrepreneur. We will talk to women business owners who have had success with Pitching and grant applications and gain insights into achieving success, making a confident application or pitch, and dealing with failure. We will introduce you to a panel of experts who are brokers and advisers to understand their role and to gain their valued wisdom.
Monday 12th June: Should I consider debt to fuel my business?! 12-2
Debt isn’t a dirty word in business! Sometimes it can be the engine to drive your success. This is your chance to get educated.
So what are the different types of debt finance available to business owners and what do you need to know?
In this session you will gain an overview of the different types of debt finance out there, and gain insights on how and when they might work best for your business. From loans to support getting your business off the ground and beyond, through to alternative types of finance available, such as invoice finance, asset finance and ecommerce finance. We will have 2 panels of experts discussing the different finance options and you can hear from entrepreneurs on why and how they’ve used debt finance to grow their businesses.
Monday 19th June: Give me the Grants hooray! 12-2
If only it was so easy! Its fantastic to secure grant funding for your business, but of course there are a lot of criteria and its very competitive for those that apply, so you have to gear up to be ready to apply.
This session will help you gain a better understanding of grant finance. A number of funders such as Techstart, Innovation UK, KTN (Knowledge Transfer Network) and Invest NI will join the session to talk about what is available, understanding the application and scoring process, and provide you with advice to improve your grant writing skills. We will invite some entrepreneurs to share their experience of grant success.
Monday 26th June: Bringing on an Investor – is it right for me? 12-2
Is it the right time for you to consider an external investor?
And what impact would that have on your business?
Equity investment offers a way to inject capital funding into your business and often also bring on expertise.
We will provide an overview on the different types of equity finance and how to find investors. There will be a panel with experts from Broadlake Capital and Clarendon funding to explain angel, crowdfunding and venture capital. We will explain all the investment jargon you need to know and hear from entrepreneurs who have successfully benefited from equity funding.
Notes:
The Inclusive Entrepreneurship Group is a partnership of entrepreneurs and business support organisations who are committed to supporting local business founders. It includes representatives from Awaken Hub, British Business Bank, Bubble Bum, Diversity Mark NI, Raise Ventures, Startacus, Ulster Bank, Ulster University & Women in Business NI.
In October 2020 British Business Bank, published ‘Alone Together: Entrepreneurship and Diversity in the UK’. The Report examined the profound effects which ethnic and economic background, gender and place have on entrepreneurial opportunities and outcomes.
As a result of the report’s findings and with a desire to drive tangible change, a voluntary working group of stakeholders from across the NI entrepreneurial and business support network came together, to focus on identifying and addressing the challenges & obstacles faced by NI-based entrepreneurs.
We designed a survey, primarily aimed at improving our understanding of potential barriers in relation to five key areas – gender, ethnicity, disability, socio-economically disadvantaged & neurodiversity – and to help improve and shape the NI entrepreneurial and startup space, so that it functions more effectively for a more inclusive and diverse community. The survey ran in 2022 and was subsequently independently analysed by the UUEPC in a voluntary capacity.
The survey showed that finance issues such as access to finance and investments were the biggest challenge for females with more than one quarter identifying finance as their biggest challenge. This lead to 4 partners in the group developing a series of short online webinars, accessible to all.
