A non-governmental organization, Advocacy for Anti-Bribery, Corruption and Crime Prevention, has held an enlightening programme on Ways of Sourcing for funds for SMEs and Finance Management for vulnerable women and PWD in Mushin Local Government.

The lecture was organised by Advocacy for Anti-Bribery, Corruption and Crime Prevention, under the Agent for Citizen-Driven Transformation (ACT) programme, in partnership with the British Council.

Addressing participants, Mr. Ganiyu Jamiu, a chartered account, identified different ways to include: funding from personal savings, funds from friends and family, trade credit, interest-free loans and angel investors.

Explaining some of these sources Jamiu stated that funding from personal savings is the most common type of funding for small businesses.

He also identified friends and family as another great source since they generally trust you and are easier to convince than strangers. However, “there is the risk of losing their money. And you must consider how your relationship with them might suffer if this happens.”

Jamiu also further stated that business owners can also explore the angel investors option. According to him, these are business owners, executives, and/or other successful individuals that have the means and ability to fund deals that are presented to them, and that they find interesting.

“Networking is a great way to find an angel investor for your business.”

Also speaking, Mr. Adedeji Fatai who spoke on Finance Management advised participants on the importance of keeping proper records of their finances. According to him, that is the only way to monitor the growth of their businesses.

Earlier in his welcome address, the Executive Director of the workshop, Imam Moruf Okusanya noted that government cannot employ everybody, and since in Mushin area of Lagos, women engage more in SMEs, it became expedient to enlighten them on the challenge of sourcing funds to grow their businesses, which will invariably alleviate poverty amongst them.

He advised participants to adhere to the teachings of the facilitators.