When aspiring entrepreneurs thinking about starting a small restaurant, the farm or the Studio, then at the start are often faced with a key problem: where to take money? But in Ukraine there are many agencies that provide loans and grants to start or grow their business. For example, such programs are conducted by international organizations such as UNDP, USAID, World Bank. How to take advantage of these opportunities to businessmen-beginners, tells economist Ivan Nikitchenko.
DOCUMENTS. The basic document for conveying to the grant, but also for business in General, is the business plan. “It needs to be written clearly. Initially, with the expectation of yourself: the owner needs to clearly understand their goals, methods of achievement and time frame sufficient for implementation of the project. But it is very important when preparing to consider third-party readers — whether employee of the Foundation, institution or the Bank: they will also read the business plan. Therefore, all calculations and descriptions must be clear immediately and do not require additional explanations,” advises Nikitchenko.
In this business plan, the necessary background: what the company structure of the company, the core team, the situation on the market in which to work; the description, the firm differs from others; the goals of the activities for the upcoming three to five years, the final expected result. “All this will help to justify the prospects of survival of a new project in the conditions of crisis” — said Nikitchenko.
PURPOSE. At the time of filing of the application the entrepreneur should indicate why funding is needed and where it will be spent. “Funds don’t like it when the money you plan to spend, for example, on marketing. It is preferable to put in the application such as improving qualifications of management and employees. This can be external consultants or managers, organization of seminars and training programs. Interesting for foundations and other socially useful initiatives that, when it comes to addressing the problems of socially unprotected layers of the population, or the introduction of energy saving technologies”, — said Nikitchenko.
VECTOR. Entrepreneurs should carefully consider the choice of the Foundation: “the Organization in which you are applying, must be specialized in particular programs. That is, if the Foundation declares that it supports initiatives for immigrants — it is not necessary for him to apply for a grant to replace outdated equipment,” — said Ivan Nikitchenko. You also need to remember if you want to apply for English, it is better to translate all the calculations. “And attach to the application form all required documents (the list can be viewed on the website of a particular organization), otherwise the application simply will not see,” — said the economist.
