SheTrades has released a guidebook that aims to help female entrepreneurs develop the skills and confidence needed to raise funds to start or grow their own businesses. The guide provides key information, shares tips and recommendations, and incorporates exercises to help users test their knowledge throughout the chapters.

The guidebook titled, ‘SheTrades Invest: Raising Funds for Your Business,’ covers nine topics, from understanding financial needs and financial instruments available to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to choosing and preparing to approach the right capital provider. The guide offers a nine-step process for users to calculate their company’s financial needs, and shares a checklist to improve a company’s internal financial management.

The guide also focuses on how women can enhance their capacity and skills to confidentially approach investors and raise funds. As a first step, the guide recommends making a list of available capital providers in the country. Second, it recommends finding out the capital providers’ priorities, preferred client profiles, and conditions to determine if the company fits the preferred client profile and can comply with their requirements. Third, the guide suggests preparing for the capital providers’ credit or investment process to be ready to apply for financing. The guide outlines the step of the loan credit process, including application, negotiation, and credit administration. Sections also focus on the “golden rules” of managing the negotiation process with an investor, starting with being clear in one’s own mind about items on which you are prepared to be flexible and which items are final, and on managing an ongoing relationship with investors.

ITC is a joint agency of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the UN. ITC developed SheTrades Outlook under the ITC SheTrades Initiative, which aims to connect three million women to international markets by 2021. UKaid supports SheTrades. [Publication: SheTrades Invest: Raising Funds for Your Business] [ITC and SheTrades Publication Landing Page]