Project News

On 16th and 23rd of September, 2022, the Business Incubation Project (BIP) held a seminar on fundraising co-hosted by the State Institution Business Incubator (SIBI).

The Seminar was led by a JICA expert who has rich knowledge on fundraising for social enterprises as well as abundant experiences in setting up crowdfunding projects. Thirty-five (35) individual entrepreneurs, including SIBI residents, attended the Seminar.

The Seminar was organized to address entrepreneurs' needs for understanding new fundraising methods. Access to bank loans is still limited for entrepreneurs in Tajikistan due to high interest rates as well as the high level of collateral requirement. As a result, alternative fundraising options such as crowdfunding has been attracting entrepreneurs' attention. However, only a few opportunities are available for entrepreneurs to learn good practices including where to start and how to prepare for fundraising.

In the Seminar, the lecturer explained global investment trends such as Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) and impact investment, emphasizing that social impact is becoming increasingly an important issue for investors. The lecturer also presented different types of crowdfunding with their characteristics and pros/cons.

Furthermore, through the case study of a Myanmar's social enterprise, the participants learned how to visualize their businesses' potential social impacts with "Business Model Canvas (BMC)", which is a common tool used around the world. The participants provided positive feedback on the Seminar, such as "I learned the importance of putting my business idea into BMC to attract investors".

Lecturer (Fundraising expert)

Participants