The Investment Group (TIG) Set to Fund Entrepreneurs

The Investment Group is interested in attractive business opportunities

Prepare, connect and possibly get funded is the message The Investment Group has for qualified enterprises with serious growth potential.

The Investment Group’s website went live on Thursday, November 23. Pictured here (left to right) Chairman Felix Stubbs; Darius Johnson, President of Global Energy Solutions Limited; Quincy Rolle, president of United Data Technologies Limited; Khadaff Whyms, President of K W Pavings; and Mick Holding TIG’s vice chairman and president of the Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce. Photo courtesy of The Investment Group

The new website for the million-dollar fund went live on Thanksgiving Day – three and a half-month after the fund officially launched – providing entrepreneurs with the flexibility to apply online.

From new ideas to existing ventures, The Investment Group is interested in extremely attractive business opportunities, said key board members during a press conference, marking the event.

There are no restrictions on type of business

“There are no restrictions as to the type of businesses we are looking to assist in building into profitable ventures,” said Felix Stubbs, TIG’s board chairman who also served as chairman of the National Development Plan Steering Committee, a committee formed by the last administration to create a 25-year strategic plan for the nation.

“Any young entrepreneur with a great business idea we will look at the application. It has to be a viable business with a compelling business plan. We need to believe that the business has a future.”

Whether the applicant is a small or medium-sized enterprise, there is a dual investment objective, said Mick Holding TIG’s vice chairman and president of the Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce.

“On the one hand we are helping either new business start-up or existing business expand to help boost the economy generally but we also have the objective of making those businesses successful and sharing in their success,” he said.

“That’s where our approach differs from other lenders. We not only invest money but also invest our board’s experience and expertise. We assist in the development. Then, we will exit, typically in a buy back share strategy, whenever the entrepreneur feels I’m big and strong enough to run on my own.”

Entrepreneurs sing the praises of The Investment Group

For the president of United Data Technologies Limited, one of the The Investment Group’s first recipient, the mentorship the board provides to his small business has been crucial to improving the chances of its overall success in today’s climate.

Quincy Rolle said he knows all too well the difficulties of starting a business from scratch, particularly one that is technology driven. The challenge was finding funding for the first stage of development and proving the business concept and model would work.

Through his road safety app for mobile devices, Mr. Rolle proposes to provide a means for citizens to keep government agencies abreast of trouble spots along their commute, in real time. The tool would allow users to alert relevant government agencies to road nuisances: streetlights that are out of order or malfunctioning, roads in need of urgent repairs, fallen power lines and the like.

The app is expected to track the entire process for the user, beginning when a complaint was lodged and ending at its successful closure. The app still has to undergo beta testing and gain government approval before going live.

“The group has a wealth of experience, being able to tap into it and hit the ground running is very important in business,” said Mr. Rolle, a software design expert and graduate of the New England Institute of Technology.

“It has been a very rich learning experience. Getting the advice to do things right the first time is invaluable. Time spent not working on your business is time loss.”

Another entrepreneur grateful to the venture fund for its valuable connections is Khadaff Whyms of K W Pavings, a company founded in 2010, specializing in road and sidewalk paving, trucking, heavy equipment, demolition, well drilling and trenching.

With the assistance of The Investment Group Mr. Whyms was confident to approach the government with a public-private-partnership proposal to re-build deteriorating roads in the Family Islands.

Under Mr. Whyms proposal the government would only have to come up with a mobilization fee upfront. Using funds provided by The Investment Group Mr. Whyms and his team would execute the work, allowing the government the flexibility to pay later, over a pre-negotiated time-frame.

“The Investment Group is comprised of sophisticated, professional investors and business executives. I would not have been able to formulate my PPP proposal without the board’s guidance. For my company, it’s a wonderful synergy,” said Mr Whyms.

“Their expert advice leads to accelerated business opportunities that would have taken me years to execute. Day-to-day operations tend to consume sole proprietorships making it challenging to think about the future and move strategically towards expansion on one’s own.”

According to third venture fund recipient, Darius Johnson each entrepreneur must weigh the pros and cons in deciding whether to approach a venture capitalist.

TIG was a fit for his company, Global Energy Solutions Limited, a company specializing in energy saving devices, since it provided him with the means to fund ambitious projects.

“When you have a small business you’re only able to qualify for a small loan from banks. For my company I wanted to be able to execute bigger scale projects in Nassau and the Family Islands so I needed more funding than what banks would lend me,” explained Mr. Johnson who recently filled an order for 200 solar cat eyes (reflective road lighting studs). “Having major financial backing allows me to get the ball rolling quicker.

The Investment Group is the brainchild of Bahamas Striping

The Investment Group is the brainchild of Bahamas Striping, a group of companies birthed from a $5,000 government grant in 2010, which later successfully utilized capital from the Bahamas Entrepreneurial Venture Fund to fuel expansion.

“It’s incredibly rewarding to be able to assist in growing and developing small businesses,” said Bahamas String Group of Companies president, Atario Mitchell. “The goal is to take good business ideas, develop them into great self-sustaining, moneymaking ventures that are ultimately benefiting the economy.

For more information on The Investment Group’s (TIG) investment opportunities visit their website: https://www.investmentgroup.company/

Source: Bahamas Local