Stage 1 – Application and Review

If you are in the process of raising capital and feel confident that your business opportunity meets our investment criteria, the first step is to submit a letter outlining your investment proposal. Letter should describe the business to be undertaken and the amount of funds being sought. A resume is to be submitted along with the letter. If you already have a business plan prepared, it can be submitted at this stage with a cover letter and a resume. Since this is the information we use to make our initial assessment and decision about whether to proceed, we strongly recommend that you outline your project as clearly as possible.

We do not sign Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs), however, all information provided by you at this and future stages will be treated in the strict confidence. If you prefer, we recommend leaving out any particularly sensitive information from the initial application form.

* * You do not need to provide a business plan at this stage. *

The Fund’s investment team will review the investment proposal letter you submit. We aim to contact you within 10 working days with a decision.

* * If you are not successful, we will let you know by email or telephone and follow up with a written reply.*

**Further Application and Review **

At this stage, you will be required to submit the following information:

• A Business Plan*

• Complete the Fund’s application.

• Complete the Fund’s Personal Financial Statement.

*All business plans and other information submitted by applicants to the Bahamas Entrepreneurial Venture Fund Ltd. (“the Fund”) become the property of the Fund and will not be returned to the applicant.*

Stage 2 – Presentation Meeting

If your proposal appears to meet our criteria, we will arrange a meeting at our offices. This will be attended by members of the Fund’s Board and should be attended by as many of your team as needed to give a full picture of your company/project.

The meeting will last for about 45 minutes and commences with a structured presentation by the applicant for about 15 minutes, followed by questions.

Following this initial meeting we will normally let you know by telephone within 3 working days if we wish to proceed further with your proposal.

Stage 3 – Assessment, Deal Structuring and Submission

From this point onwards, we will assess the key parameters of your business which will usually involve:

* Provision by you of detailed information about your company;
* At least two meetings to discuss commercial and financial aspects of your business, one of which may be at your premises;
* Discussion and agreement of the structure of the investment with you and your professional advisors.

Having agreed the basis and structure of an investment, the Fund Administrator will write an investment case for submission to the Fund’s Board of Directors. Board meetings are held monthly.

Stage 4 – Approval and Offer

If the Fund’s Directors approves the investment, an offer letter will be written to you outlining the terms and conditions of the offer, which will be subject to due diligence.

Stage 5 – Due Diligence & Legal Work

Commercial and financial due diligence is undertaken to confirm the accuracy of the information that has been supplied. Due diligence involves the examination of your company by the Fund’s representatives.

Completion of the investment will only occur if the results of the due diligence work are satisfactory. Legal documentation will be drawn up as part of the process and you will be asked to warrant the information provided to us.

Costs of the due diligence and legal process will be paid out of the investment.

Stage 6 – Completion

At completion of the Fund’s investment, cash will be invested into your company in exchange for the agreed combination of shares, loans, options etc. It may be that we will require certain conditions to be met by the company at or after completion, and the investment may be made subject to the fulfillment of these conditions. The following information is required at this time:

• Certificate of Incorporation

• Copies of the Company’s Memos & Arts

• Certificate of Good Standing

• First four (4) pages of your passport

• Copy of the front and back of your National Insurance card

• Copy of the Company’s National Insurance Registration Certificate

• Copy of Lease Agreement, if applicable

• Copy of Business License

• Copy of Shop License

• Copies of any Business Insurance

Stage 7 – Post-Investment Monitoring

A condition of the investment is that your company has adequate financial systems and controls. Each investee company will be expected to provide regular reports on business and financial progress – including cash flow projections, management accounts and audited financial statements. We will typically appoint a Director/Consultant to the board of the company to provide support and advice to the owner(s)/management. The Director/Consultant will usually have relevant industry experience or perhaps a skill-set such as marketing that existing directors do not possess.

Stage 8 – The Exit

Whenever the Fund invests in an equity partnership, the Fund’s objective is always to sell it shares in our investee companies at a significant capital gain, usually within 3 to 5 years. Our investments are structured to encourage a sale of our shares (the “exit”) within this time frame and the agreement and implementation of an exit strategy is key to all companies we fund. We will assist your company in identifying and focusing on an optimal exit route.

Time taken for Investment Process

The time taken to progress an enquiry from stage 3 to stage 7 will vary from investment to investment but in our experience it will typically take 1-2 months, largely dependent on the availability of information. You can help minimize the time taken by making the information we need available in a timely and accurate manner.