Chief Executive Officer of Tropical Cables, Dr Tony Oteng-Gyasi, has asserted that individuals who are interested to venture into the entrepreneurial world are not entirely ready if their biggest issue is financing.
According to him, business start-ups rarely need huge sums of money to keep them running.
“You should bear in mind that the support is not necessarily financial because a lot of the time people think that you need to have enough money in order to start doing something for yourself. That is wrong because if money is your biggest obstacle then you are not ready.”
Dr Oteng-Gyasi also identified that most start-up owners do not have entrepreneurial instincts or abilities which includes how to find money to invest in the trade they take interest in.
He also noted, experience in acquiring funds from establishments like banks is very important, adding that these financial institutions usually demand certain requirements start-ups might not be able to provide.
This includes experience, the cash flow of the company, as well as the day to day management of the business.
In his words, “You are a start-up and you do not have any experience. If you go to a bank and remember that the money in the bank is coming from somebody’s savings, and the bank does not want to lose that money. Should the bank take that money and give it to somebody who has no track record, who has no experience, who hasn’t managed 100 cedis before and yet want a 100,000 cedis that will not be very prudent on the part of the bank.”
Recommending what entrepreneurs could do to get some money for their business, Dr. Oteng-Gyasi suggested that family and friends are the best options for start-ups.
He averred that close relations are more likely to invest in a new venture because they trust the entrepreneurial instincts of people passionate about starting a business following behavioural patterns.
“Everywhere in the world, normally the way startups find money is through family and friends. People who you know, people who have known right from when you were a child, your parents, siblings, uncles. So start-ups, you start with something small. If it’s from selling sachet water or even selling cars or whatever it is you start with something small with people who know you, people who trust you. People who know your character can afford to give you money.”
