#FinanceFridays: Learn How to Raise Funds and Finance Your Startup & SME

Posted on February 12, 2019

Today more than ever, startup founders find themselves being offered various opportunities for support and development – mainly to start and grow their ventures. Yet, this support remains mainly in the areas of idea development, market sizing, validation, and business model and MVP development. Not much is being done to prepare startups and SMEs to get investment-ready, to identify the right channels of funding, and raise funds. For that, Berytech has launched #FinanceFridays, a training program to teach you everything you need to raise funds and finance your startup or SME in Lebanon.

Spreading Financial Literacy

Joanna Abi Abdallah, Head of the Business Support and Development department of Berytech explains the fundamental mission of the program,”this training program primarily falls under Berytech’s mission to offer the right ecosystem for innovative entrepreneurs through the two-fold objective of spreading financial literacy in the entrepreneurship ecosystem and giving startups and SMEs the needed support and networking opportunities for them to access financing and raise funds.”

The program – a first of its kind in the ecosystem – will aim to fill the current gap in the entrepreneurial landscape by:

1. Equipping startups and SMEs with the needed knowledge and insights in investment, financing, and raising funds
2. Offering a platform of exchange, interaction, and networking for various players of the ecosystem – including entrepreneurs, startup founders, SME owners, accelerators, investors, financial institutions, etc.

Engineered for Entrepreneurs

#FinanceFridays mainly targets startups or SMEs owners, entrepreneurs, professionals in the startup scene, and in a broader sense anyone who would be interested in topics related to access to financing, financing instruments and their implications, and the actual process of raising funds.

Participants in the training program will have:

1. 1. A clear and holistic overview and understanding of the financing landscape for startups and SMEs in Lebanon and the MENA region;
   2. A list of potential agencies/institutions/VCs to reach out to for financing their startup or SME;
   3. An understanding of the eligibility criteria, requirements, mechanisms and processes to access different sources of funds, including grants, loans, and competitions; and
   4. the chance to be part of a community of entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and investors.

#FinanceFridays Training Program

The program consists of a series of training sessions delivered by experts in the field and key stakeholders from leading financial institutions, banks, and government entities, and key players in the entrepreneurship ecosystem.

The program will tackle:

1. Raising funds for a startup or SME: when and how much
2. Overview of the various financial instruments and financial mechanisms that could be leveraged under different scenarios
3. Valuation techniques
4. Negotiations
5. Term sheet building

First Session: Funding Options, Loans at Low-Interest Rates

For the first session of #FinanceFridays on Friday, February 22, 2019, Patrick Atme – Job Creation Operations Manager of the Economic and Social Fund for Development (ESFD), will present funding options through ESFD.

The purpose of this session is for startups and SMEs to have an understanding of the eligibility criteria, requirements, mechanisms and processes to access different sources of funds, including grants, loans, and competitions. Book your seat here.

Dates and details of the upcoming sessions will be shared monthly on the Berytech website and social channels. Follow us to stay up to date.