RegCharles invests $130,000.00 in water production SME

IN furtherance of her empowerment of MSMEs in the real sector of the Nigerian economy, RegCharles Finance and Capital Limited has injected a long term investment of $130,000.00 into Sarvil Limited using a mixture of debt and micro-equity to expand their business, upgrade their production facilities, improve the distribution networks and facilities. Sarvil Limited (formerly Sarvil Enterprises), commenced business October 14, 2011 and was incorporated April 28, 2012. Sarvil started a business relationship with RegCharles Finance and Capital Limited in August 2012 and since then has demonstrated a strong capacity to managing funds and improving their access to markets and opportunities. Being a small and growing business the company was struggling to survive amidst harsh business environment and lack of infrastructure supposed to enhance their competitiveness in the challenging market. Speaking at the handover ceremony of the improved facilities, the MD/CEO Peter Damian Mbama explained the rationale and justifications behind the decision to invest in the business. HE SAID: “Hygienic water production is a viable business in Nigeria and can generate huge returns in excess of 30% per month. The market is colossal amidst the dearth of affordable and clean water in the country.” Mr Mbama went further to state that as a non-banking financial institution licensed by CBN, RegCharles is at the forefront of empowering entrepreneurs and business owners in the MSME segment to achieve their goals in life. HE WENT ON: “MSMEs remain at the pivot of the survival of any economy in the world. They remain the highest employers of labour and contribute over 50% GDP besides the huge employment opportunities available. Sarvil is one out of over 70 entrepreneurs that have benefitted from our business model. “At RegCharles Finance and Capital Limited we focus on financing and empowering Small and Medium Scale Enterprises in various sectors of the economy as well as Agriculture and Agro Allied Businesses in Nigeria. RegCharles Finance and Capital Ltd is renowned for her Social and Impact Investment capacity focusing on Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises. In this, we assess the social, economic and environmental impact of transactions and investments before funding any business. ”By providing tailored financial solutions and advisory services through our array of products and services, our target focus remains to reduce unemployment by empowering men, women and youths with great potentials in helping to grow the economy through employment generation and productivity.” Asked how business the business model evolves in the creation of values, Mbama explained that prior to funding any entrepreneur various training programs are designed which will be inculcated into the ideas and practices of the business owner which last for a minimum of three days depending on the peculiarities of the transaction. He added: “Every entrepreneur is meant to pass through pre-funding trainings in capacity development designed to imbibe them with the required skills to run a sustainable business. After we have advanced funds to the business owner, he will be enrolled into some post-funding training models involving mentorship programs and incubation. “RegCharles strives to protect the funds provided to us by clients as well as handle the risks associated with our investments by being of the business. We discuss that the bane of entrepreneurship is fund diversion and insincerity hence we strive to mitigate the occurrence by being part of the business in totality. Our experience has demonstrated that collateral requirements do not guarantee repayment. We consider cash flow and character as the key to the success of the business and the protection of the investments. Hence we have been able to design our risk management models to accommodate these. “The benefits of our involvement in the businesses of our clients cannot be over-emphasized at this time. We have a way of determining challenges in any business. Hence we target to assist our customers (the MSMES) by giving them Access to market; Access to business information; access to capital and finance; trainings on Entrepreneurship, vocational skills, financial management and basic book keeping skills; access to Information Technology outsourcing, Business Development strategies, Product development strategies, leadership and organizational development.” The MD/CEO of Sarvil Limited, Mr Olusegun Adegunle explained that the partnership with RegCharles Finance and Capital Limited has made tremendous impact in his business. His words: “Following the surge in our growth and the challenges we were facing meeting up with demand we approached almost all the banks in Nigeria for financial support to no avail. Most of the reasons adduced were lack of structure; lack of collateral; no audited financial statements; level of education and numerous reasons. The only bank that agreed to assist failed to understand the problems and proffer the right solutions. “I approached RegCharles and they swung into action. First they conducted a proper due diligence of our company; they proceeded with the restructuring exercise and created a proper structure for us; RegCharles through their outsourcing company recruited and organized our employees; an accountant was recruited for us and an audit firm was engaged for yearly audit to enable us have the audited financials which made banks to run away from us. It did not end there. RegCharles prepared out 5 year strategic plan and business plan which was the fulcrum of our success till date. We passed through some training with them and today they have funded us for growth and expansion. “With what we have observed, this is the company to focus on. They are actually empowering small and growing businesses in reality. I advise the entire public and government to support them by lending funds to them in various forms for proper deployment to our growth and empowerment.” Mbama added: “RegCharles Finance and Capital Limited stimulates an improved business environment that will enable the MSMEs thrive successfully, Improve access to markets, business skills and information, improve the MSME financial Infrastructure, creation of new opportunities through innovation, support the creation of an environment through which SMEs will have access to debt, FDI and portfolio investments flows can be enhanced, provide the required advisory services clients in areas like business valuations, corporate strategy, investment appraisals, evaluating, structuring, negotiating monitoring, and closing transactions, M&A, portfolio restructuring, fund raising and capacity development etc in order to create financially stable entities for the SMEs “Our port-folio is to support micro, small and medium enterprises, poor famers, and its counterparts to improve their capacity and build the growth strategy with sustainability for the long- term socio-economic development and job creation in Africa. This is Social and Impact Investing in action!” By Adeniyi Adunola