Question 1

Does Funding Connection offers funding or are you a funding agency?

Accepted Answer

We are a private advisory firm and help you to raise capital.

We assess your business from a funder’s perspective and guide you on what needs to be strengthened before applying for funding.
 • Funding readiness assessments
 • Capital strategy and funding pathway guidance
 • Grant, loan, and investor preparation
 • Advisory support throughout the funding process

Investor-Grade Business Plans
We develop professional business plans that are practical, compliant, and aligned with real funding criteria.
 • Bank and DFI-compliant business plans
 • Grant-ready and investor-ready plans
 • Sector-specific and customised documentation
 • Review and improvement of existing plans

Financial Modelling & Forecasting
We build clear, defensible financial models that funders trust.
 • 3–5-year financial projections
 • Cash flow forecasts
 • Profit and loss and balance sheet projections
 • Scenario and sensitivity analysis

Submission Management 
We support you beyond the documents.
 • Funding application support
 • Pitch preparation and refinement
 • Financial documentation packaging
 • Advisory support during negotiations and submissions

Question 2

Where do you get our industry research from?

Accepted Answer

Our insights are generated through a multi-source proprietary methodology. We synthesise data from primary sources (including exclusive executive interviews and proprietary surveys), premium financial and market databases, and trusted public filings. Our real value lies not in the raw data, but in our experienced analysts' ability to interpret trends, challenge conventional wisdom, and translate complex information into actionable strategic advice for your specific situation.

Question 3

Am I guaranteed to receive funding?

Accepted Answer

As a professional advisory firm, we don't offer guarantees—no reputable firm does, as the final funding decision always rests with the investor or lender. However, our role is to dramatically increase your probability of success where others often fail.
We achieve this through a two-phase advisory process:
Phase 1: Strategic Positioning & Gap Analysis. Before writing a single word of your business plan, we work with you to objectively assess your funding readiness. We analyse the same critical factors investors will: your business model's soundness, market validation, financial projections, team strength, and personal credit profile. We identify gaps and help you address them before you apply.
Phase 2: Investor-Grade Packaging & Navigation. We then craft a compelling, evidence-based narrative (your business plan and financial model) that speaks directly to funders' criteria. More importantly, we advise you on how to present your case and navigate the process.
Our value isn't in a document; it's in preparing you to be the most credible, investment-ready candidate possible. We focus on what we can control: your preparedness, your presentation, the strategic strength of your proposal and manage in the second step your submission.

Question 4

I am just starting my business. How can I afford your services?

Accepted Answer

As strategic advisors, our goal is to make your startup more capital-efficient, not less. Starting without a validated strategic roadmap is the costliest mistake you can make.

Our engagement acts as a force multiplier for your limited resources. We ensure every Rand you spend next is guided by a solid strategy, not guesswork. Furthermore, a professionally developed investment case is often the single most effective tool to unlock the external funding (loans, grants, investment) that alleviates your cash constraints.

Let's have a confidential discussion about your vision. We can often structure our advisory engagement to align with your current stage, focusing first on the core strategic validation needed to make you fund-ready before even starting with your business plan, financial forecast and in the second step with our submission management

Question 5

How long does the funding application process take?

Accepted Answer

A professional funding round is a strategic process, not a transaction. The timeline is influenced by three key variables:
1. Your Preparedness: How "investment-ready" is your business and documentation? (This is where our advisory work has the greatest impact.)
2. The Funder's Mandate: Grant, debt, angel investment, and VC funding each have their own due diligence cadence.
3. Market Conditions: Overall investor appetite and economic climate.

While initial responses can come in 2-4 weeks, securing a commitment typically takes 2 to 3 months from first contact to funds in the bank.

Our role is to compress the first variable—your preparedness. By ensuring you submit a complete, credible, and compelling application from day one, we help you avoid the delays that cripple most applicants: back-and-forth requests for information, unclear financials, and a weak strategic narrative. We manage the process with you to keep momentum.

Question 6

What documents are required for a funding application?

Accepted Answer

While there is a standard checklist, our advisory process focuses on the substance and strategic alignment of these documents. A funder will scrutinize:

• The Business Case: (Business Plan, Financial Model, Market Research) Does it show a viable, scalable opportunity?
 • The Borrower's/Team's Character & Capacity: (CVs, Credit Reports, ID) Are you credible and capable?
 • The Legal & Operational Foundation: (Company Docs, Licenses, Contracts) Is the business legitimate and protected?

Most applicants fail by providing generic, disconnected files. We ensure your documents work together to tell one compelling story. For example, we don't just build a financial model; we build a model that is a direct numerical expression of your business plan and market research, which is what sophisticated funders demand.

Question 7

What types of funding does Funding Connection assist with?

Accepted Answer

We advise on funding as a strategic tool to achieve specific outcomes. Therefore, we start by understanding your goal: Is it to launch, scale, or execute a specific project?

• To Launch a Venture: We focus on startup loans, pre-seed/angel investment, and foundational grant funding.
 • To Scale an Existing Business: We strategize around expansion loans, venture capital for growth-stage companies, and mezzanine financing.
 • To Execute a Major Project: We structure finance for large capital expenditures, leveraging asset-backed lending, project finance, and joint venture partnerships.

We then match your goal with the most suitable financiers—from commercial banks and development funders to private equity and government agencies. Our expertise is in matching your ambition with the right capital partner and structuring the ask to succeed.

Question 8

Can Funding Connection help with grant applications?

Accepted Answer

Absolutely. We provide specialised grant strategy and application advisory services. Winning a competitive grant is less about filling out forms and more about strategically proving your project's alignment with the funder's specific mandates and scoring criteria.

Our advisory process includes:

1. Strategic Grant Sourcing & Fit Analysis: We don't just list opportunities. We analyse your project against the funder's strategic objectives (e.g., job creation, innovation, B-BBEE impact) to identify the highest-probability matches.
2. Competitive Proposal Architecture: We help you architect a compelling narrative that directly addresses the grant's scoring rubric, ensuring every section—from the technical methodology to the budget—maximizes your points.
3. Compliance & Risk Mitigation: We ensure your application is administratively perfect, with all supporting documentation meticulously prepared to withstand rigorous audit, protecting you from disqualification on technicalities.

With our full advisory services, we assist you with your business plan, financial service and manage the submission.

Question 9

What is the success rate of funding applications through Funding Connection?

Accepted Answer

Our clients who fully engage in our strategic advisory process and follow our guidance have a significantly higher success rate than the industry average. While every application is unique, we are proud of our track record in securing favourable outcomes for our clients.

It's important to understand what drives this success:

Our role is not only to submit applications, but to ensure our clients become funding-ready. We achieve this through a rigorous advisory process that addresses the core reasons applications fail:
1. Strategic Misalignment: We ensure your proposal matches the funder's specific mandate.
2. Weak Financial Modelling: We build robust, defensible financial projections.
3. Incomplete or Non-Compliant Submissions: We manage documentation to audit-ready standards.
4. Poor Presentation: We craft a compelling narrative that highlights viability and impact.

Therefore, our "success rate" is a direct result of this methodical preparation and strategic positioning. We focus on preparing documents that are difficult for funders to decline and manage the full submission process for you.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

We have compiled a list of frequently asked questions for your convenience: