Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Nigeria will stabilize the naira following tumble, Soludo says
Nigeria will stabilize the naira without squandering its more than $50 billion of foreign reserves after the currency fell about 20 percent against the dollar, said central bank Governor Chukwuma Soludo.
Policy makers have a “flexible” exchange-rate policy, Soludo said in a Bloomberg Television interview. Currency-trading restrictions imposed last week are “temporary,” designed to prevent the central bank from running down international reserves as Russia has done to support the ruble.
The naira began tumbling as oil, which accounts for 90 percent of Nigeria’s export earnings, started its 74 percent drop from a record in July. The central bank banned interbank trading in the currency last week, spurring the resurgence of an unregulated market where the naira’s exchange rate is about 6.5 percent weaker than the central bank’s target rate.
Africa’s biggest oil producer and the fifth-largest supplier of crude to the U.S. has enough reserves to meet all its foreign- debt obligations “even for years,” Soludo said.
Foreign-currency reserves fell 5.7 percent to $58.4 billion from $61.9 billion a month earlier, the central bank said on Nov. 7. As of Jan. 22, reserves dropped to $50.9 billion as the central bank stepped in to buy naira after it reached a record low of 161.2 per dollar in interbank trading on Jan. 13.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Liberia’s First Microfinance Institution Starts Operations with IFC’s Support
Liberia’s first commercial microfinance bank has received a banking license and is making loans to the public, boosting the country’s economy by providing finance to its smallest businesses, many of which have had no access to financial services.
IFC is a founding shareholder in AccessBank Liberia, which received a preliminary banking license from Liberia’s central bank.
IFC has supported AccessBank Liberia through every stage of its development. AccessBank Liberia looks forward to a continued partnership with IFC to increase financial services to Liberia’s smallest entrepreneurs and help support the country’s economic development.
AccessBank Liberia is the result of a two-year partnership between IFC and Liberia’s government. IFC initially worked with partners at Liberia’s Central Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and within the World Bank Group to build a regulatory framework based on global best practices in microfinance. IFC will continue to work with Liberia’s central bank to strengthen its capacity to supervise microfinance lending.
The successful launch of AccessBank Liberia demonstrates IFC’s commitment to Liberia and strong belief in the potential of the country’s private sector. IFC Africa strategy involve supporting Africa’s smallest businesses and entrepreneurs by helping to extend financial services to people and places where they are most needed.
AccessBank Liberia was established in partnership with Access Holding. IFC previously worked with Access Holding to establish successful microfinance banks in Madagascar and Tanzania. The European Investment Bank and the African Development Bank are also shareholders in the new institution.
IFC is a founding shareholder in AccessBank Liberia, which received a preliminary banking license from Liberia’s central bank.
IFC has supported AccessBank Liberia through every stage of its development. AccessBank Liberia looks forward to a continued partnership with IFC to increase financial services to Liberia’s smallest entrepreneurs and help support the country’s economic development.
AccessBank Liberia is the result of a two-year partnership between IFC and Liberia’s government. IFC initially worked with partners at Liberia’s Central Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and within the World Bank Group to build a regulatory framework based on global best practices in microfinance. IFC will continue to work with Liberia’s central bank to strengthen its capacity to supervise microfinance lending.
The successful launch of AccessBank Liberia demonstrates IFC’s commitment to Liberia and strong belief in the potential of the country’s private sector. IFC Africa strategy involve supporting Africa’s smallest businesses and entrepreneurs by helping to extend financial services to people and places where they are most needed.
AccessBank Liberia was established in partnership with Access Holding. IFC previously worked with Access Holding to establish successful microfinance banks in Madagascar and Tanzania. The European Investment Bank and the African Development Bank are also shareholders in the new institution.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Breaking Views: Microfinance Risk? What risk?
Microfinance entrepreneur Dave Van Niekerk thinks Afraica is a safe bet and is lending the money to prove it - even though his customers don't have bank account between them.
Feeling Blue?
Blue Financial Services (www.blue.co.za) began life in 2001 as a finance provider for low-income earners in South Africa unable to afford mainstream financial services. By 2003 it had expanded into Botswana and by the year ending February 2005 it saw turnover reach R80 million ($11m). A swift listing on tha Altx board of the JSE in October 2006 and capital injections from AIG and IFC among others sponsored an ambitious expansion programme that sees it now operating 173 branches across Soth Africa, Botswana, Zambia, Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi, Lesotho, Namibia and Kenya, employing over 1,000 people.
David Van Niekerk founded Blue Financial Services in 2001 and has led it since as CEO. He has worked in microfinance since 1997 when he joined Unity Financial Services, later becoming a shareholder and the operational manager. Unity was eventually sold to Theta investments to become part of its microfinance stable, which was then merged into South African loans provider African Bank, to become African Bank Investments Limited. Van Niekerk held various senior management posts there until leaving for Blue. He was officially to Blue's board in October 2005.
Q. Why does your company Blue focus on microfinance for the bottom of the pyramid?
The opportunities in the microfinance area across the continent are just enormous - banks are simply not servicing this market. In Zambia for instance, you can’t get a home improvement loan or even a loan to buy a vehicle from a commercial bank - the restrictions and costs are too high.
The majority of our customers live on a subsistence living, and they don’t have a large savings base. Many of them don’t have any savings, they live from hand to mouth, so the smallest emergency expense will set them back dramatically and they need to have access to capital to fix the problem.
Q. How successful has the venture been so far?
We’re currently the top-listed company on the ALTX, with a market capitalisation of about two billion rand (U S$281m). We have strong international shareholders like IFC, part of the World Bank; AIG, one of the largest insurers in the world; Stanlib from South Africa, and the Dutch Development Bank recently also placed funding with us. We have a nice investor base, and a lot of international flavour.
We want to become Africa’s biggest credit provider, and our intention is to be in the majority of African countries in the next five years. We’ll go where others fear to tread. Our Kenyan operation is continuing despite the political chaos and will continue, and the people that pull out now are the ones that are going to get hurt.
Q. What financial services do people in this market need?
People primarily need day-to-day finance - they need salary advances, which is instant finance. Second, they need term loans, which are essentially personal loans that can be used for a variety of purposes from home improvement to an emergency. Our third most popular product is the home improvement loan. In our experience the majority of our clients don’t want loans or advances paid into a bank account, they want to receive cash.
It’s not as easy as dealing with a high-profile customer: it’s a more labour-intensive market. We spend, on average, half an hour with each customer to get things done and we pay out advances or credit on average within an hour. People need access to credit in a hurry - they’ve got jobs they’ve got to maintain, and they don’t want to go and apply and then come back for an answer three weeks later. They will often travel large distances from rural to urban areas to get finance.
We give typically home loans of up to 350,000 rand ($49,000) - an area where the banks won’t play. We’ll give education loans, home improvement loans and normal personal loans, and advanced credit with fixed repayments over time.
Q. Why don’t the banks serve these customers?
The banks are not geared for this market. It’s not their fault they’re not geared, it’s a very tough market and there isn’t necessarily all the information to hand to grant credit.
Most of this population is also unbanked. So, if you’re a bank, you’re looking at banking that person first, to get them a track record, and a history to be able to grant the credit on. Banks look at this market from a very different perspective - we don’t measure our customers’ credit ability or credit worthiness from his bank account, we look at a number of factors. Banks like to have a customer with them before they will grant credit. So you first have to bank the population - it’s a chicken and egg situation, do you bank them first or lend to them first? In Tanzania, 35% of civil servants don’t have bank accounts. They get paid by collecting cheques from banks assigned by the government, but they don’t have an account there. These are civil servants, your more educated, higher level employees - it just illustrates the limited nature of banking in Africa.
Q. What can microfinance do for economic growth in Africa?
There are many stats showing that if you lift the GDP of a country by 10%, you raise the bottom income earners by 3% - you’ve taken 3% of the population out of poverty. How do you do that? You create employment, you give potential entrepreneurs access to funding.
In Zambia, most of our customers are existing civil servants who run a small business on the sideline; where they have agricultural crops, they have a poultry business, they do repair work, and they do it through loans they get from us. We have one lady there who borrowed money from us to start a chicken business. Over a year that has blossomed and she now makes three times her teacher’s salary through her business. That’s the kind of access to finance that people require.
Q. Africa’s low-income market is perceived to be credit-risky - would you agree?
In our experience, people who have new access to credit don’t want to disappoint the lender because they’ll never be able to borrow from you again, and they want to continue that relationship. So, we have a much better payment history in the rest of sub-Saharan Africa than we do in South Africa, and strangely enough the more informal or rural the country, the better the payment culture.
It’s essentially about responsible lending - the customer has to be able to afford the instalment, so you adjust the term, the period and the value of the advance to the use of the loan to ensure they can afford it. We match the term of the repayment to the product - we won’t give somebody a school fee loan over three years, it must be a one-year loan.
Q. How do you check the creditworthiness of your customers?
We have a scoring model that we use to determine the customer’s affordability and whether he should get the loan, and that involves working with ITC bureaux and credit bureaux in these countries, often using data shared between banks and financial institutions. We base our model on factors such as length of employment, how much the customer earns, how long he has lived at the current address, and a number of different aspects of his personal life.
Q. Do you back up your loans with money management support or mentoring?
We’ve only now moved into SMME lending - small business loans - and yes, we do. There is a lot of hand-holding involved; we give the person coaching, mentoring, we manage his bank account with him for the first few months.
We’ve got education courses for our customers and education booklets to train people on budgeting, managing their money, how to use a loan, why not to use a loan, how to repay a loan, what the effects of interest rates are. This is all designed to educate our customer base, because for many this is their first experience of credit. When we opened in Malawi we were the first formal microfinancier in the market, as they had only previously had loan sharks who would break their kneecaps. They knocked us over - we couldn’t keep up with demand for the first few weeks. It’s a big education process.
Original Article: Africa Investor
Can you make money in African infrastructure?
Brian Myerson, joint chairman of PME Infrastructure Managers, says you can, and he's raised a $180m fund to prove it
Brian Myerson is a director of PME African Infrastructure Opportunities and joint chairman of PME Infrstructure Managers Limited, which will mange the funds of PME Afraican Infrastructure Opportunities. He is also CEO of Pinnacle Capital Group (www.principalcapital.com), which he founded in November 2004. Pinnacle Capital Group specialises in alternative investment management and is one of four joint venture partners in PME Infrastructure Managers.
In 1993, Myerson co-founded Active Value and was a pioneer in actvist investing in the UK, Continental Europe and South Africa. He has also been on the boards of several listed UK companies.
Once described as one of the City’s "most feared corporate raiders", Myerson has turned his activist investor mindset to African infrastructure through the creation of PME African Infrastructure Opportunities, an AIM-listed investment fund.
"Infrastructure is literally top of every African government official’s agenda at the moment," says Myerson.
He believes the current environment is perfect for private equity investment in infrastructure due to a number of factors coming into play at the same time. First, the worldwide boom in demand for mineral resources is a fantastic opportunity for Africa. But to fully benefit Africa needs the mines and supporting infrastructure - such as roads, railways and ports - to get the stuff out of the ground and shipped to places such as India and China.
Second, peace has taken hold and democracy is spreading across large parts of Africa, significantly improving the investment climate. At the same time, African governments are starting to embrace capitalism. They are desperate for inward investment and going out of their way to bring down regulatory barriers. Finally, South Africa and many other African countries have experienced extended periods of economic growth but infrastructure development has not kept up.
"Just being in Africa and knowing people in the investment banking industry means I’m being shown potential deals all the time," says Myerson. "People are desperately looking for equity investments in infrastructure-related projects and that’s why we put this fund together."
Read More..
Integrity Counts
Vimal Shah, CEO of east African FMCG giant Bidco, has built a household name by matching business sense and commitment with firm ethics. He explains his vision to Alison Lock, Africa Investors.
It isn’t an easy time to be doing business in Kenya at the moment, but Vimal Shah, founder and head of the Bidco empire, has weathered a few storms in his time. "It’s a phase we have to go through and it’s good to learn from," he says stoically of the current political upheaval.
"These are our peak months, but they’ve been the opposite," he says. "It’s disrupted the distribution systems and the way people work, and in Uganda we’re down by about 50% from normal levels."
It was a similar story 15 years ago, during the 1992 multiparty elections in Kenya, when his small consumer goods company, producing and selling edible oils, fats, soaps and margarines was in its crucial expansion stage.
"It was a very tough period for us when we started off. Interest rates went from 15% to 80% per annum. The exchange rate was also very high, worse than it is at the moment in Kenya, it was very hard to operate. Lots of companies didn’t make it."
Bidco did survive, however, and has since grown from an idea conceived out of his father’s textile business into a household name with production plants in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania distributing 26 brands across 14 countries. Shah’s ambitions for his business now stretch continent-wide: "Africa’s per capita consumption is very low. It can only go up. We have a goal - 2030 - by which time we want to be all over Africa in this industry."
Read More..
It isn’t an easy time to be doing business in Kenya at the moment, but Vimal Shah, founder and head of the Bidco empire, has weathered a few storms in his time. "It’s a phase we have to go through and it’s good to learn from," he says stoically of the current political upheaval.
"These are our peak months, but they’ve been the opposite," he says. "It’s disrupted the distribution systems and the way people work, and in Uganda we’re down by about 50% from normal levels."
It was a similar story 15 years ago, during the 1992 multiparty elections in Kenya, when his small consumer goods company, producing and selling edible oils, fats, soaps and margarines was in its crucial expansion stage.
"It was a very tough period for us when we started off. Interest rates went from 15% to 80% per annum. The exchange rate was also very high, worse than it is at the moment in Kenya, it was very hard to operate. Lots of companies didn’t make it."
Bidco did survive, however, and has since grown from an idea conceived out of his father’s textile business into a household name with production plants in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania distributing 26 brands across 14 countries. Shah’s ambitions for his business now stretch continent-wide: "Africa’s per capita consumption is very low. It can only go up. We have a goal - 2030 - by which time we want to be all over Africa in this industry."
Read More..
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
South Africa's Treasury will provide electricity utility Eskom with loan guarantees of 175.97 billion rand
CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - South Africa's Treasury will provide electricity utility Eskom with loan guarantees of 175.97 billion rand over the next 5 years to help it raise funds for spending requirements.
The Treasury said in its 2009 Budget Review, released on Wednesday, that the guarantees were in addition to a 60 billion rand, three-year direct loan to the company announced last year.
Eskom , which is battling to meet growing demand, plans to spend 343 billion rand over five years to boost capacity but a global credit crisis had raised borrowing costs making it different for the company to raise finance.
Read More
The Treasury said in its 2009 Budget Review, released on Wednesday, that the guarantees were in addition to a 60 billion rand, three-year direct loan to the company announced last year.
Eskom , which is battling to meet growing demand, plans to spend 343 billion rand over five years to boost capacity but a global credit crisis had raised borrowing costs making it different for the company to raise finance.
Read More
South Africa invests $16 billion to create jobs, cut poverty
South Africa will invest an additional 161 billion rand over the next three years to create jobs and reduce poverty as the effects of a global financial crisis weigh on the economy.
The government has allocated 25 billion rand to provinces to expand no-fee schools, reduce infant and child mortality and improve welfare services.
The government will concentrate on its expanded public works programme to try and rein in mounting job losses, mainly in the mining and manufacturing sectors, where shrinking exports and lower commodity prices place tens of thousands of jobs at risk.
The government will spend 4.1 billion rand on the public works programme and an additional 7.9 billion rand for housing and municipal infrastructure.
A further 5.4 billion rand will go to improve the criminal justice system and increase the number of police officials from 183,000 last year to over 204,000 in 2011/12.
The government has allocated 25 billion rand to provinces to expand no-fee schools, reduce infant and child mortality and improve welfare services.
The government will concentrate on its expanded public works programme to try and rein in mounting job losses, mainly in the mining and manufacturing sectors, where shrinking exports and lower commodity prices place tens of thousands of jobs at risk.
The government will spend 4.1 billion rand on the public works programme and an additional 7.9 billion rand for housing and municipal infrastructure.
A further 5.4 billion rand will go to improve the criminal justice system and increase the number of police officials from 183,000 last year to over 204,000 in 2011/12.
S.Africa ramps up spending to fight slowing growth
CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - South Africa ramped up spending in its 2009 budget and cut taxes to counter a global slowdown and boost an economy seen limping to its lowest rate of growth in more than a decade.
Finance Minister Trevor Manuel also delayed the introduction of mineral royalties until next year as miners struggle amid falling commodity prices and easing global demand.
Read More
Finance Minister Trevor Manuel also delayed the introduction of mineral royalties until next year as miners struggle amid falling commodity prices and easing global demand.
Read More
Angola's government will cut spending in 2009
Angola's government will cut spending in 2009 and bolster efforts to diversify the oil dependent economy to counter the global economic slowdown.
The government would continue to invest in key sectors like agriculture in a bid to improve the lives of ordinary Angolans -- an estimated two-thirds live on less than $2 a day.
The country's Economy minister Manuel Nunes said "We will continue to carry out efforts to fight hunger, poverty and implement key public investments."
The government, which in December forecast the economy in 2009 to grow 11.8 percent, has also said it could revise these estimates in the face of the global economic slowdown.
It has also pledged to spend $50 billion to build one million new homes for the poor in the next five years.
The government would continue to invest in key sectors like agriculture in a bid to improve the lives of ordinary Angolans -- an estimated two-thirds live on less than $2 a day.
The country's Economy minister Manuel Nunes said "We will continue to carry out efforts to fight hunger, poverty and implement key public investments."
The government, which in December forecast the economy in 2009 to grow 11.8 percent, has also said it could revise these estimates in the face of the global economic slowdown.
It has also pledged to spend $50 billion to build one million new homes for the poor in the next five years.
RAISING FUNDS FOR THE SMART & SERIOUS ENTREPRENEUR
We're expecting $400,000 in revenue this year and considering seeking outside capital for the first time. What do investors usually want in terms of percentage of ownership and rate of return?
The answer, in two words: a lot. Which makes sense, because the investors are taking a lot of risk. Out of any 10 investments, half will fail completely. Of the remaining five, two will break even and two will return a couple of times the investment. The profit needs to come from the last company, which means that every one them has to have the potential of being a home run.
What's a home run? In an angel's ideal world, an equity investment of $100,00 would turn into $1 million to $3 million in five to seven years. Angels won't complain about a lower return, however, if they can exit more quickly.
You may have to give away a large stake to get the money you need. Whereas a tech company with your level of revenue might be valued at $4 million to $5 million, a toffee maker probably is worth from $1 million to $2 million. If an angel estimates that your company is worth $1 million, then gives you $250,000, the investor will get a 20 percent stake. That's because the size of the stake is determined by the postmoney valuation of the company - in this example, $1 million plus the $250,000 investment. If you can show that sales are growing rapidly, you may have some leverage to negotiate a higher valuation. But may be not. Consumer products is a risky sector; even if your toffee is already on grocery store shelves, a larger company could drop its prices and drive you out.
Don't want to give up a large chunk of your company, only to see it sold off? You could approach friends and family members instead. Unlike a professional investor, Grandma probably can't tell you how to find a great new VP of marketing. On the other hand, she is much less likely to demand a full-ratchet anti-dilution provision. And there's something else to keep in mind. Like VCs, angels are increasingly asking for their shares to come in the form of participating preferred stock, which ranks higher than common stock. In an exit, your angels will receive the face value of their original investment plus any accrued dividends (usually worth about 8 percent a year) before you or any friends-and-family investors receive a cent. then if there's any money left over, the angels share in the rest of the pie. If the pie is big enough for all to share, great. If not? Well, you're in for an uncomfortable conversation with Grandma
This Blog Post was adapted from " Tough questions, smart answers ASK Inc." from the November 2008 issue of INC. Magazine.
The answer, in two words: a lot. Which makes sense, because the investors are taking a lot of risk. Out of any 10 investments, half will fail completely. Of the remaining five, two will break even and two will return a couple of times the investment. The profit needs to come from the last company, which means that every one them has to have the potential of being a home run.
What's a home run? In an angel's ideal world, an equity investment of $100,00 would turn into $1 million to $3 million in five to seven years. Angels won't complain about a lower return, however, if they can exit more quickly.
You may have to give away a large stake to get the money you need. Whereas a tech company with your level of revenue might be valued at $4 million to $5 million, a toffee maker probably is worth from $1 million to $2 million. If an angel estimates that your company is worth $1 million, then gives you $250,000, the investor will get a 20 percent stake. That's because the size of the stake is determined by the postmoney valuation of the company - in this example, $1 million plus the $250,000 investment. If you can show that sales are growing rapidly, you may have some leverage to negotiate a higher valuation. But may be not. Consumer products is a risky sector; even if your toffee is already on grocery store shelves, a larger company could drop its prices and drive you out.
Don't want to give up a large chunk of your company, only to see it sold off? You could approach friends and family members instead. Unlike a professional investor, Grandma probably can't tell you how to find a great new VP of marketing. On the other hand, she is much less likely to demand a full-ratchet anti-dilution provision. And there's something else to keep in mind. Like VCs, angels are increasingly asking for their shares to come in the form of participating preferred stock, which ranks higher than common stock. In an exit, your angels will receive the face value of their original investment plus any accrued dividends (usually worth about 8 percent a year) before you or any friends-and-family investors receive a cent. then if there's any money left over, the angels share in the rest of the pie. If the pie is big enough for all to share, great. If not? Well, you're in for an uncomfortable conversation with Grandma
This Blog Post was adapted from " Tough questions, smart answers ASK Inc." from the November 2008 issue of INC. Magazine.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
USA - Breaking News
Senate passes $838B STIMULUS PLAN. The plan was approved by vote of 61 to 37.
Pres. Obama on the economy:
- hails passage of senate stimulus bill
- plan will save or create "up to 4 million jobs"
- "we can use this crisis & turn it into an opportunity"
- middle-class tax cuts " the best way" to help
- "I expect to be judged by results"
Read More
Pres. Obama on the economy:
- hails passage of senate stimulus bill
- plan will save or create "up to 4 million jobs"
- "we can use this crisis & turn it into an opportunity"
- middle-class tax cuts " the best way" to help
- "I expect to be judged by results"
Read More
Monday, February 9, 2009
AllTech Ventures Management Adding Value beyond Capital to Entrepreneur's Project
Good initiative to provide financial, technical and managerial support to ensure long-term success of businesses or entrepreneur's project that will ultimately provide exceptional returns for both the entrepreneur and investors.
AllTech Ventures Management is the Allegiance Technologies Limited (a subsidiary of Steersman Enterprises, Inc.) vehicle for entrepreneurship development for technology creators, and venture creation services and resources for entrepreneurs committed to bridging the gap between technical ideas and viable companies.
AllTech partner with entrepreneurs to build leading evolutionary technology companies. Founders face significant challenges today in planning, staffing, launching, and financing new ventures. AllTech understand the gap that exists between great ideas and sustainable growth companies. AllTech Ventures Management provides extensive services and resources designed to turn great ideas into scalable enterprises. Portfolio companies receive:
• Access to proven funding, team-building, and customer networks
• Hands-on consultation from our experienced venture staff
• Technical expertise, to support product development, from one of the region’s leading research institutions
• Valuable infrastructure, such as advanced computer and biotechnology labs
The AllTech team is drawn from top start-ups, high ranked corporations, and world-class universities. AllTech Ventures Management professionals have an established record of excellence in the tasks they have dedicated themselves to — from academics to operating businesses.
AllTech Ventures Management draws upon the start-up, corporate, venture capital and management consulting experience of its founders to foster successful entrepreneurship and the management of technological innovation.
AllTech Ventures Management venture building activities includes:
VentureAccelerator Program (VA)
VA is a program open to Entrepreneurs committed to creating new companies based on Allegiance Technologies innovations. Once registered into the program,
VA company founders receive intense, hands-on assistance with a range of new business processes, including market validation, business planning, staffing and initial funding through grants and/or equity investment.
Technology Advancement Program (TAP)
TAP is a venture incubator that partners with entrepreneurs to build early-stage companies. TAP expedites the maturation of young firms by providing extensive hands-on business support from experienced and entrepreneurial staff, access to funding sources, technical expertise and turn-key infrastructure.
The Technology Advancement Program (TAP) staff is comprised of seasoned veterans of technology startups and venture capital firms who will provide:
• business advice and support
• product planning
• project management
• program management
• market intelligence
• introductions
• access to funding
• other critical assistance that can accelerate the growth of your technology venture.
AllTech Venture Creation programs provide to entrepreneurs in the emerging markets of Africa. We seek opportunities in multiple industries including wireless, digital media, software and service companies.
Submit business plan: bizplan@steersmanenterprises.com
AllTech Ventures Management is the Allegiance Technologies Limited (a subsidiary of Steersman Enterprises, Inc.) vehicle for entrepreneurship development for technology creators, and venture creation services and resources for entrepreneurs committed to bridging the gap between technical ideas and viable companies.
AllTech partner with entrepreneurs to build leading evolutionary technology companies. Founders face significant challenges today in planning, staffing, launching, and financing new ventures. AllTech understand the gap that exists between great ideas and sustainable growth companies. AllTech Ventures Management provides extensive services and resources designed to turn great ideas into scalable enterprises. Portfolio companies receive:
• Access to proven funding, team-building, and customer networks
• Hands-on consultation from our experienced venture staff
• Technical expertise, to support product development, from one of the region’s leading research institutions
• Valuable infrastructure, such as advanced computer and biotechnology labs
The AllTech team is drawn from top start-ups, high ranked corporations, and world-class universities. AllTech Ventures Management professionals have an established record of excellence in the tasks they have dedicated themselves to — from academics to operating businesses.
AllTech Ventures Management draws upon the start-up, corporate, venture capital and management consulting experience of its founders to foster successful entrepreneurship and the management of technological innovation.
AllTech Ventures Management venture building activities includes:
VentureAccelerator Program (VA)
VA is a program open to Entrepreneurs committed to creating new companies based on Allegiance Technologies innovations. Once registered into the program,
VA company founders receive intense, hands-on assistance with a range of new business processes, including market validation, business planning, staffing and initial funding through grants and/or equity investment.
Technology Advancement Program (TAP)
TAP is a venture incubator that partners with entrepreneurs to build early-stage companies. TAP expedites the maturation of young firms by providing extensive hands-on business support from experienced and entrepreneurial staff, access to funding sources, technical expertise and turn-key infrastructure.
The Technology Advancement Program (TAP) staff is comprised of seasoned veterans of technology startups and venture capital firms who will provide:
• business advice and support
• product planning
• project management
• program management
• market intelligence
• introductions
• access to funding
• other critical assistance that can accelerate the growth of your technology venture.
AllTech Venture Creation programs provide to entrepreneurs in the emerging markets of Africa. We seek opportunities in multiple industries including wireless, digital media, software and service companies.
Submit business plan: bizplan@steersmanenterprises.com
Unleashing ideas with venture capital
There are many Nigerians with fantastic ideas that require capital to start or grow their existing businesses. Accessing the needed money from banks or other financial institutions is usually difficult not because all the ideas lack credit but there are certain factors that the lenders contend with it. In addition to funds, many people with ideas also need a partner to work with.
Read More
Read More
Friday, February 6, 2009
UBS to start Private Equity Investing
UBS Global Asset Management is planning to start a private equity investment division before year-end as an offshoot of its Infrastructure Asset Management business. The firm closed its flagship UBS International Infrastructure Fund at $1.5 billion with commitments from institutional investors globally. UBS is planning to commence a second international fund next year and is now marketing a Middle East and North Africa-focused infrastructure strategy. The firm is also looking to invest in Chinese and Latin American infrastructure later next year.
Investors accuse of banks inhibiting market recovery
As the Nigerian capital market continues to wallow in the troubled waters of prolonged loss of value, investors and operators are railing accusations against the banking sector for their die-hard posture on recovering margin loans, an instrument that played a crucial role during the market boom period. Read More
What is Private Equity?
- Private equity can be divided generally into two streams, fund investing and company investing. Fund investing is essentially one level removed from company investing, as the fund will in turn invest in underlying portfolio companies. For this reason company investing is often called "direct" investing.
- Fund investments are in turn divided into primary and secondary. A primary investment is a commitment to invest in a new fund which is as yet unformed. A secondary investment is the purchase and transfer of an interest in an existing fund from another investor.
- Direct private equity investing, i.e., at the company rather than the fund level, can be described as typically being an investment of an equity nature in a company which is not listed on any public equity market. While there are a number of possible exceptions, this definition remains broadly true.
- All private equity investing, whether at the fund or company level, can be subdivided into buyout and venture. Buyout transactions typically include debt and involve established and usually profitable companies. Venture transactions typically do not include debt and involve young, even start-up companies and some element of technological innovation.
- Fundamental to a proper appreciation of how private equity funds work is an understanding of the difference between allocated, committed, drawndown and invested capital. Allocated capital represents that part of the overall asset mix which has been set aside for investment in private equity. Committed capital is that amount of allocated capital which has been committed. Drawndown capital is that part of committed capital which has been paid on demand. Invested capital is that part of drawndown capital which has actually been invested in portfolio companies (the other main use of drwandown capital being the payment of fees and expenses).
- The bulk of private equity funds are these days typically structured as institutional limited partnerships, though other legal forms exist, including some which are quoted and/or aimed at least in part at retail investors.
- A private equity fund may be thought of as a stream of cashflows (both into and out of the fund) which are essentially unpredictable both as to their timing and amount.
- Sole investment powers rest with the GP (manager) of the fund. Thus all private equity fund investors are wholly passive in the strict legal sense.
- Fundraising typically takes at 3-year intervals, although some funds, such as secondary funds, have in recent years been investing more rapidly, and thus fundraising at shorter intervals. This phenomenon also occurred with venture funds during the bubble period.
- Fund investments are in turn divided into primary and secondary. A primary investment is a commitment to invest in a new fund which is as yet unformed. A secondary investment is the purchase and transfer of an interest in an existing fund from another investor.
- Direct private equity investing, i.e., at the company rather than the fund level, can be described as typically being an investment of an equity nature in a company which is not listed on any public equity market. While there are a number of possible exceptions, this definition remains broadly true.
- All private equity investing, whether at the fund or company level, can be subdivided into buyout and venture. Buyout transactions typically include debt and involve established and usually profitable companies. Venture transactions typically do not include debt and involve young, even start-up companies and some element of technological innovation.
- Fundamental to a proper appreciation of how private equity funds work is an understanding of the difference between allocated, committed, drawndown and invested capital. Allocated capital represents that part of the overall asset mix which has been set aside for investment in private equity. Committed capital is that amount of allocated capital which has been committed. Drawndown capital is that part of committed capital which has been paid on demand. Invested capital is that part of drawndown capital which has actually been invested in portfolio companies (the other main use of drwandown capital being the payment of fees and expenses).
- The bulk of private equity funds are these days typically structured as institutional limited partnerships, though other legal forms exist, including some which are quoted and/or aimed at least in part at retail investors.
- A private equity fund may be thought of as a stream of cashflows (both into and out of the fund) which are essentially unpredictable both as to their timing and amount.
- Sole investment powers rest with the GP (manager) of the fund. Thus all private equity fund investors are wholly passive in the strict legal sense.
- Fundraising typically takes at 3-year intervals, although some funds, such as secondary funds, have in recent years been investing more rapidly, and thus fundraising at shorter intervals. This phenomenon also occurred with venture funds during the bubble period.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Improved Infrastructure Key To Economic, Social Progress In Africa
Addressing an African Union (AU) summit focused on enhancement of the continent’s poor infrastructure, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said today that public works were the cornerstone to economic and social progress.
“Africa needs good roads, schools and hospitals; as well as reliable and efficient water services, electricity grids and telecom networks, while information and communications technologies must also be a bigger part of Africa's future,” Mr. Ban told leaders of the 53-State organization, meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
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“Africa needs good roads, schools and hospitals; as well as reliable and efficient water services, electricity grids and telecom networks, while information and communications technologies must also be a bigger part of Africa's future,” Mr. Ban told leaders of the 53-State organization, meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
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Monday, February 2, 2009
World Bank Grants Nigeria $150 million Agricultural Loan
The Board of the World Bank last week in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, approved an International Development Association (IDA) credit of $150 million (N21 billion) for Commercial Agriculture Development Project (CADP) in Nigeria. The IDA credit, which is payable in 40 years with a moratorium of 10 years, has a service charge of 0.75 per cent and it is interest-free.
The CADP is designed to strengthen agricultural production systems as well as facilitate access to markets for targeted value chains among small and medium scale commercial farmers in the five participating states in the country. The beneficiary states are Cross River, Enugu, Lagos, Kaduna , and Kano.
The CADP, which will be implemented over a five-year period, starting from April 16, 2009 and closing December 31, 2014, has two components: Agricultural Production and Commercialisation and Rural Infrastructure.
The CADP is designed to strengthen agricultural production systems as well as facilitate access to markets for targeted value chains among small and medium scale commercial farmers in the five participating states in the country. The beneficiary states are Cross River, Enugu, Lagos, Kaduna , and Kano.
The CADP, which will be implemented over a five-year period, starting from April 16, 2009 and closing December 31, 2014, has two components: Agricultural Production and Commercialisation and Rural Infrastructure.
EOI for Sustainable Forestry Fund for Sub-Saharan Africa
CDC Group plc ("CDC"), the UK government-owned fund of funds, is seeking preliminary proposals from fund managers for the formation and management of a commercial fund that will invest primarily in sustainable forestry in Sub-Saharan Africa.
CDC anticipates providing up to US$100m to the selected fund, to be supplemented by additional capital from sponsors or private investors.
Download press release: EOI for Sustainable Forestry Fund for Sub-Saharan Africa
CDC anticipates providing up to US$100m to the selected fund, to be supplemented by additional capital from sponsors or private investors.
Download press release: EOI for Sustainable Forestry Fund for Sub-Saharan Africa
Why Venturing Abroad Still Makes Sense for Fund Investors
Some people have pulled dollars from foreign-stock funds as their performance has tanked. But thinking global is still a smart way to go.
N500m private equity fund to be float by BGL
BGL Plc has planned to float a N500m private equity fund, which will be used to improve activities and take advantage of the various opportunities in the markets where the company operates.
In the coming months, the company would introduce three funds into the financial market. The funds, which included the BGL Infrastructure Fund, BGL Mutual Fund, Real Estate Fund.
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