7 Business Funding Opportunities That You Probably Didn’t Know About!

By- Georgina Florence

Have you ever thought about how to raise money for your business?

If so, it's likely that you have thought about applying for a loan from the bank. However, there are other options available to businesses looking for growth funding. In fact, there are many ways through which you can get the money for your start-up or existing business that will support its growth.

Of course, some types of funding require long and hard work, but others offer very attractive returns that can be achieved rather quickly. Here we explore some of these different options and what they mean in practice:

1.Government Grants for Small Businesses

Government grants for small businesses are a great way to help entrepreneurs grow their businesses by providing them with the necessary funds to start or expand a business.

There are certain requirements that need to be met in order to qualify for these grants. First of all, small businesses must be registered, and they must have been operating for at least two years. Small businesses also need to meet the qualifications of the grant program they want and submit an application for it.

There are many benefits of these grants and loans, such as increasing the competitiveness and sustainability of small businesses. Grants can also contribute to reducing inequality by creating entrepreneur opportunities that might not exist otherwise and can be counted as non dilutive.

2.Angel Investors for Small Entrepreneurs

Angel investors are those who provide growth funding for companies as well as mentorship as needed for these companies. They are people who invest their own money in startups and small businesses. These people are willing to take risks with their money and look for a high return rate.

If your company can provide a high rate of return (usually 30% or higher), an angel investor may be interested in investing. What you need to realize is that getting the attention of an angel investor is not easy, but it's not impossible either. Many people have successfully raised money from angel investors, and you can be one of them!

Crowdfunding platforms have helped countless businesses and startups get off the ground. Unsplash

3.Crowdfunding Platforms for Small Businesses and Startups

Crowdfunding is "collecting money from a large number of people via the internet to finance a project or venture." Crowdfunding platforms are the platform that allows the developer to raise funds and ideas from anyone around the world. Crowdfunding has proven to be an effective way to raise money for businesses and startups. It's a great way to validate your product and see if there is enough interest in it.

Crowdfunding platforms such as Kickstarter and Indiegogo have helped countless businesses and startups get off the ground. They have also become an essential source of income for artists, authors, filmmakers, game developers, musicians, and others. The greatest benefit for businesses by far is validation. A successful crowdfunding campaign can show that people are genuinely interested in your products or services. Besides, it can also bring in a lot of funding for your existing business!

4.Business Incubators and Accelerators that Offer Funding

There are different ways to fund a business, including loans, angel investors, and crowdfunding. But a growing trend in business funding is the incubator and accelerator model. This model is designed to help startups grow and obtain funding through a variety of methods.

An incubator can be defined as a company that provides seed money or other support for new companies in exchange for a small stake in their equity. An accelerator is like an incubator with more emphasis on mentorship and less on funding. Accelerators focus on providing startups with the tools and training they need to succeed without necessarily taking equity in the company.

Moreover, incubators and accelerators support a new business by providing them low cost or free office space, access to mentors and other entrepreneurs, education programs, as well as seed funding.

5.Venture Capitalists Who Invest in New Ventures

Venture capital is one of the most important industries in the world. It's one of the basic pillars of our capitalist society because it's the thing that allows capitalism to work as we know it today. Venture capital is a multi-billion dollar industry where companies, organizations, and governments come together to invest in new ideas and startups.

The venture capital industry supports innovation by giving money to risky, high-risk projects that other investors don't want to touch. Without this industry, we're not sure how innovation would take place in the world today.

There are many peer-to-peer lending.Unsplash

6.Peer-to-Peer Lending Networks That Provide Financing to Small Businesses

Peer-to-peer lending is the process of making loans from individuals to other individuals. There are many peer-to-peer lending networks that provide financing to small businesses and startups. Funding Circle, a leading U.K. peer-to-peer lender, has made more than $1 billion in loans to small and medium businesses. Lending Club is a U.S.-based peer-to-peer lending platform that offers personal and business loans. You can borrow up to $35,000 for personal needs or fund your business. They don't charge any fees or commissions, and they allow investors to choose the types of loans they want to fund.

The funding is more available but more difficult to get.Unsplash

7.Seed Funds For Entrepreneurs

Seed funding is a combination of financial capital and expertise provided by an investor or group of investors to a startup company or entrepreneur. The goal of seed funding is to help the entrepreneur develop a minimal viable product and bring it to market. Seed funding is most often used for businesses that have been in business for less than three years, with annual revenues under $1 million.

But now, the situation has changed. The funding is more available but more difficult to get. The main reason for this is that more and more startups are being funded. As the number of startups gets bigger, the competition to get funded also becomes tougher. A startup needs to be very aggressive in terms of raising funds and should not relax while applying, applying, applying, and again applying.

Final Words:

There are a number of business funding opportunities that many businesses don't know about. Getting the right amount of funding to start or grow your company can be quite a task, but it doesn't have to be if you know where to look.

(Disclaimer: This is a sponsored article and includes some commercial links.)