Financing Sources For A Project Funding Investment Group

By Brenda Warner


There are many projects running globally today. These include government, NGO and private entities. Private entities will mostly be involved in profitable ventures while the government invests in development. Some private companies donate money to developing initiatives for the benefit of the community. All initiatives must raise capital for operations though at times this becomes difficult and thus the need for a project funding investment group. There are many different sources of capital available to them.

Grants are the cheapest sources of finances available. The most common type is research grants. This is awarded on merit of either breakthroughs made in a certain field or investment in the said field. These will include medical, small and medium enterprises, development as well as market research grants. These are aimed at making progress and advancements in fields like medicine, technology, service delivery, business and wildlife conservation. Other types of grants include export, training, education, environment and social development.

Loans are provided for undertakings but unlike grants, they must be paid back with interest. Most often they are provided against adequate security deposit and dependable earnings or returns. They are provided for all types of projects irrespective of profitable returns. Common sources include banks, monetary organizations and mezzanine. Bank loans are more popular because they provide flexible repayment terms. Monetary organizations include large bodies like the World Bank and International Monetary Funds.

Equity funding is not easily available to most projects because it has high rates of interest. The money is acquired for investing in profitable ventures and businesses. They have strict repayment policies. Angel investors are individuals with high net worth who look for opportunities to invest their money. These investments usually yield a lot of returns. Venture capital is medium term funds used to invest in the lucrative initiatives.

Asset backed finance is provided for growing businesses and huge corporations. It is secured by value assets. This acts as security to be claimed if money is not repaid. This funding is strict because it is purely for profit. It is availed as invoice discounting, leasing, factoring, trade finance and pension funds. It is used as a backup when other avenues for raising capital are not available like capital markets.

Business relationship funding is available where there is a joint effort in raising cash for a given project. This is only available in a situation where there is a shared interest. This occurs in joint ventures with a binding contractual agreement between companies. Others include partnerships, agencies, distributors and suppliers, trade investors as well as equity swop.

All of the above types of finances fall into three different categories. Restricted finance is only used according to stipulated purposes. There is close supervision. Foundations and grants from governments are usually restricted to specific expenditure. Unrestricted funds are used at the discretion of the management of the initiative. Main sources are donors and fundraisers.

Bridge funding refers to a temporary situation. It is used in the short term to finance operations when the organization is expected to become solvent soon. This occurs when grants and contract money has been promised but not yet received. With all the above forms and types of financing, projects will continue to operate.




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