By Frederick ASIAMAH
Many businesses that have attempted to fix their capital shortfalls might have deepened their problem because they chose the wrong path.
According to Abena Brigidi, CEO of Nimed Capital Ltd, entrepreneurs who go for quick solutions may not find the fix they were looking for.
From her East Legon office, she told Business Day last Wednesday that “normally, people are looking for quick solutions. But these quick solutions don’t do the quick fix.”
She draws the analogy that assuming a distressed business owner is looking for working capital, and projects GHC300,000 will solve their problem, they are mostly likely to go borrowing. They will do so in expectation that things will quickly turn around.
Yet, sometimes, the business might not generate the level of income that will enable them service their debt and at the same time inject more capital to keep the business running.
This is where Abena thinks it gets risky. “So, what that means is that if you are not careful, if you are not diligent, if you are not prudent, you will end up having a working capital that is going to increase that gap that you wanted to fill.
“So, that’s what I mean by quick solutions don’t do quick fixes. So, your intention was to fix it quickly and pay that back quickly, but what happens is that that is actually going to widen the gap and you end up needing to fix it in the long term.”
Abena would prefer to elaborate this point at the Women CEOs Summit, which has been slated for Thursday, October 19. She would be joined on a panel by other astute business women to discuss “Expanding women access to capital – How to find it and spend it wisely.”
“So, if you want to know more and know how to access funds, I think that this conference is something that you should come to and listen to more of that,” she said.
“People are coming to see how they can raise capital,” she emphasised.
Women CEOs Summit
The Women CEOs Summit is an annual congregation of women entrepreneurs and professional business executives on Global Business Leadership.
Hosted by WomanRising, a network of The African Network of Entrepreneurs (TANOE), the summit brings together both emerging and established entrepreneurs, women business executives and professionals who aspire to global business leadership.
Fifteen female business leaders are scheduled to speak at the summit, which will be in Accra, sharing the stories of their journeys with other women so that together they can soar.
The organisers say the summit will also serve as networking opportunity for business leaders to discuss and strategize on how to make their businesses globally competitive to boost economic growth and development while showcasing the daring strives of women entrepreneurs and business professionals in Africa.
“Featuring panel discussions and interactive breakout sessions with distinguished and experienced women business leaders, the summit endears to support participants to gain better knowledge in the world of business, access to markets, financial support and practical skills to help in their creation of strategies to promote and grow their businesses from local entities to globally competitive businesses,” said TANOE.
