Business aspirations? Need funding? Here is an opportunity.

Individual investors in the GCC region (if you don’t know where that is, you probably don’t qualify) are interested to invest equity privately in small and medium enterprises. Up to US$300k is available for investment in each business. You must be an individual skilled and experienced in the line of business that you propose, but not necessarily have run a business before this.

Those interested, please see submission requirements detailed below. All fields are mandatory. Please note that a response cannot be guaranteed. If your idea is found suitable, an associate or the author of this blog may contact you to discuss further or request more information.

Please DO NOT submit your information to this blog. Submit directly to the email address set up for the purpose: sme_equity@yahoo.com.

NAME
NATIONALITY
AGE & DATE OF BIRTH
PLACE OF INTENDED BUSINESS (country, state, city)
EMAIL ADDRESS (this will be the only way we will communicate with you in the first stage)
BUSINESS IDEA SUMMARY (not more than 200 words about your small business idea and your target customers)
TOTAL INVESTMENT (please mention figure; do not include any financial forecast now)
INVESTMENT SOLICITED (not less than 40% and not more than 85% of the total equity, maximum available US$300,000 for each business)
ABOUT YOU (attach a one-page bio or state in not more than 150 words each about yourself and any others involved).

You may submit no matter where in the world you plan to operate the business. Preference will be given to locations in the Middle East, Europe and Australasia. Those seeking to re-capitalise existing small or medium enterprises are also welcome.

Important: due to other commitments and investment deadlines, this offer closes at midnight, Abu Dhabi time, on December 31st, 2008. Remember, no one likes to let excess liquidity get stuck in a bank longer than possible. Scammers, your emails will get deleted on the spot. A consulting fee may apply if we are convinced about your idea and, if we need to take it to the second level of potential investors we’ve on the panel following the first panel (sorry, time is money). 10 finalists will be shortlisted for consideration, unless there are more viable submissions than we expect.

Notes: please send your submissions in English. If you are not proficient in English, it does not matter; try to communicate your thoughts as well as possible. We are looking for capable people with ideas and determination, not teachers of the language.

Remember: please DO NOT submit your information to this blog. Submit directly to the email address set up for the purpose: sme_equity@yahoo.com.

Calling SME aspirants...

The day after tomorrow is the day of the announcement, in this blog, of unique support available to small and medium business ideas.

Character Assasination

I do not like quoting from other sources, but I happened to notice something succinct, so here goes (there's always a first time):

"Character assassination is at once easier and surer than physical assault; and it involves far less risk for the assassin. It leaves him free to commit the same deed over and over again, and may, indeed, win him the honors of a hero in the country of his victims." - Alan Barth (The Loyalty of Free Men,1951).

Here’s my quote:

“Times have changed since 1951. Means and speed of communication have altered dramatically. Even retribution from the almighty is substantially quicker. Shorter, sharper sentence construction is in style.” – Mathew Jacob (Unpublished, 2008).

Where would do you go for support for your brilliant small business idea?

Your bank, a friend in a bank, your spouse, college buddies, relatives, a private investor you did not know until recently… more importantly, who first to tell? People who know you are always skeptical, that’s the way the world works… the more you know someone and the more the person knows you in return, their judgment will be clouded by too many considerations. Your idea will matter less than ‘the person they have known for years’; that’s human psyche.

As I mentioned before, watch this space for an announcement… you have to be patient. If the announcement has taken longer than the two weeks I initially indicated, you need to accept the fact. Nothing comes without some effort, like having to wait a few days?

So what comes to mind when you think United Arab Emirates?

Backward peripheral territory, a country built by expats, people without imagination or insight, land of camel caravans… I’m amazed at the ignorance that still prevails. Thanks in no small measure to the international press.

Here is a blog amongst several, that should give you a different perspective. It is authored by an incredible individual who quadruples as member of a royal family, businessman, thinker and press/radio columnist/commentator. I love my adopted country of 20 years.

http://blogs.zawya.com/sultan/

SMEs are the new growth sector...

A reminder...

In the next week to 10 days I will be announcing something tangible for aspiring SMEs, those with the ideas that can make a difference, individuals who have aspirations to lead the world into a better future, stake-holders of convincing new business proposals… how about micro-credit for SMEs…

Credible and clean private equity investments are available for SMEs… watch this space for the announcement… have patience…

Parrots in Dubai... a lesson to be learned?

Parrots, I’m told, cannot fly very long distances. I’ve seen wild parrots from my secondary school days in India (not seen them much, except in captivity on my recent visits). I have never seen parrots while I was in Malaysia where I was born and lived until 1969 and then worked, from 1982 to 1987.

Of all places, I noticed parrots in what seemed migratory flocks of scores flying by in batches, as the sun set in the winter of 2007 in Dubai. They were flying in formation, one flock after the other, with the occasional stray frantically finding its way, but more or less in the same direction, led by instinct. Perhaps the first time I noticed them in my 20 years in the United Arab Emirates. There were hundreds, maybe thousands of them, parrots, flying far above my apartment balcony, as I sipped on my single malt.

I remember at the time, I had pointed the birds out to my wife, but she observed them far above in the fading light for a few seconds, but refused to believe they were parrots.

Well, now I am sure they were parrots.

It’s the beginning of winter 2008 in Dubai, and flocks of similar green parrots are flying in the same direction above my apartment window where I am nestled, sipping my third double vodka and red orange (some things never change, like the parrots). However, like me having migrated from single malt to vodka, some of the batches of parrots seemed to be flying at lower altitude. This permitted me to determine they are indeed parrots; green hue, long, slightly sagging tails, familiar bird calls… I could hear even their cousins (our two pet budgerigars) answering their cries. Wish I had released the budgies at that point, but they wouldn’t last the approaching summer, I thought. Charitable, conscientious human, ignoring who it was that imprisoned them in the first place!

So what’s the lesson?

No life-changing, ingenious, business leadership pointers here. I enjoyed watching every single flock of the parrots fly by as the sun set in Dubai and, continued to my 7th or 8th vodka and red orange (can’t remember how many). Following that, I had one of the soundest, most relaxing six hours of sleep I have had since 1982.