Seed Academy has developed a free ebook to help South African entrepreneurs navigate the fundraising landscape.

Donna Rachelson, chief catalyst at Seed Academy says that based on surveys and their training of hundreds of entrepreneurs, raising funds is the most common concern. “70% of survey respondents said that they require funding to grow their businesses. 83% of start-ups are self funded and only 3% fund their businesses from the vehicles formally established to support them. There clearly is a serious gap – tremendous demand for funding, substantial funding available but the entrepreneurs have a knowledge gap.”

In order to address this knowledge gap, Seed Academy has developed The Essential Guide to Funding in South Africa as a resource for early-stage micro-, small- and medium-size businesses to secure funding for their businesses. The practical guide, available as a free e-book download, aims to show entrepreneurs just how much support is actually available and how to go about applying for it.

There are funding options for all types of entrepreneurs including women, those involved in green projects, mining, manufacturing, and technology. Even businesses in distress are catered for.

The Essential Guide to Funding in South Africa covers some of the more cutting-edge forms of fundraising such as crowdfunding, but the more traditional angel investors, public and private equity, as well as venture capital funding and bank loans are also covered.

The full array of funding available via the development finance institutions is explained in some detail, including loans and grants. This section includes the DTI, National Empowerment Fund, Development Bank of South Africa, Small Enterprise Finance Agency, Enablis Acceleration Fund, Khula Credit Indemnity Scheme, Industrial Development Corporation, Small Enterprise Development Agency, Technology Innovation Agency, and the Jobs Fund.

The guide also contains some tips about pitching for funds and recommends being extremely conservative in financial projections, understanding the competitive environment and having a clear understanding of business differentiators.

Since the guide is in electronic format, it can easily be amended, and so will become more comprehensive over time as funders and users add to the content.

The Essential Guide to Funding in South Africa can be downloaded for free at http://seedacademy.co.za/the-essential-guide-to-funding-in-sa/