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Frequently Asked Questions

1) Who is the programme for? (See situation that most applies to you)

- The Make a Wave Pre-Incubator is for women in social businesses that have already a fully functioning operation, have developed services and/or products and put them on market already.

OR

- Entrepreneurs who have a sellable product/service, that is bound to make a social impact, who also have positive feedback from testing focus groups, or a sample of existing users.

OR

- For experienced entrepreneurs who are actively seeking funding/finance (loan finance, large repayable grants, equity) to develop, or scale up operations.

OR

- For entrepreneurs who have an existing service/product, and who have acquired experience in their current business or who would have had an entrepreneurial background.

....AND

- As an entrepreneur, you want to have privileged access to funders to understand what they are looking for, how they have helped other businesses to be successful and how they could help you grow through finance, mentoring and/or incubation programmes.

2) The programme is not for:

- Entrepreneurs who have just founded a company and haven’t made any sale to date with their current service or product or haven’t got any order to date, and equally never had any business experience before.

- Entrepreneurs who only have an idea on paper, and never tested the service/product with real people. To test your pilot project, contact for instance your nearest UnLtd office.

- Entrepreneurs who are looking for small grants to fund a project, as opposed to finance operations / finance a business.

- Male social entrepreneurs (sorry!)

3) How much does it cost?

- The programme costs £2000. In comparison, a valued business coach would ask this price for 10 hours of their time! You actually get 40 hours and a rich combination of support that will develop you and your ideas.

Purchase the programme at £2000 before 31st August 2012 or get sponsored to attend the programme - (IN BOTH CASES VISIT - OR DIRECT YOUR SPONSOR- TO OUR CROWDFUNDING PAGE HERE

4) What do I need to do to be eligible?

You need to:

- Fill in the business diagnostic that will give us a snapshot of your business, your vision, your team and your achievements to date, as well as a clear business model. 

- Be able to attend the 6 dates for the visits to women investors and other finance organisations in Central London. These visits last up to 2 hours each (1 hosted hour and 45 minutes debrief). (Lunch is not provided).

- Attend 6 co-mentoring teleconferences that will take place throughout the 6 months (8pm London time or 12pm noon) with special guest-hosts based in remote locations. These sessions will also be used for co-mentoring purposes and will fit the needs of the group and women entrepreneurs involved in this programme.

- Receive 6 coaching sessions by an Ogunte team member.

- Attend at east one of the Make a Wave social events that are connecting you with angels and relevant stakeholders. (London)

- Complete 6 mentoring sessions with your personal business angel (*if you have been selected through the Angels stream)

4) What happens during the Live Visits?

The hosts / speakers introduce their organisation and what is specific about them, the entrepreneurs they are looking for and the key mistakes to avoid when introducing a venture, and pitching for it. Additionally, we hear about the host's perspective, insight and experience as a business person and how they have overcome obstacles. You will find that their learning will be extremely insightful.

We open the space for a Q and A between the host and the 12 entrepreneurs.

After the session with the investor, we take another 45 minutes to:

• Debrief with the facilitator (A business Coach and Mentor)
• Reflect on how to apply advice and suggestions on to individual ventures.
• Set challenges to implement until next session.