nairabrains, Author at NairaBrains

Years back I had this need for a small sum of money to start a small business and searched in vain for anyone to loan me the money. The banks are usually useless in Nigeria for these sort of things.

If you’ve been in a similar situation you know how difficult it can be to raise just $1,000 to start that business idea you’ve always had.

So a friend then gave me this very simple but effective and creative advice. This idea is so simple that you may even dismiss it the first time you come across it. It may be useless for raising significant startup capital so I advise you use it if only you want to raise anywhere between $1,000 – $5,000. So imagine you need to raise $1,500 to start that hustle you have been thinking about.

Instead of asking a couple of friends and family to cough out the money why not take this approach.

Friends & Family Strategy

Make a list of everyone you know (family, friends, work colleague etc) who can ‘dash’ (gift) you a small sum of money without too much persuasion or breaking sweat. Say you needed N250,000 and you divide it by 25. This means you’ll need 25 acquaintances who can give you N10,000 for free and you have your N250,000. If you have a large circle of people to ask you could even make it N5,000 per head and get it from 50 people you know.

The idea behind this approach is it is easier to ask people for painless, negligible amounts of money than ask for loans of sizeable sums. So from taking a piece here and there from many people you have your small startup capital.

If you are in a position where you need this sort of money try this approach out. Get out a piece of paper and list down every single person you know who can afford to part with N5,000 or N10,000 without too much resistance. You’d be surprised how long your list will be. Then reach out to them one by one. Be simple and straightforward and ask for that amount. Not as a loan but as a gift. By the time you make the rounds you have your small seed capital.

Don’t underestimate the little ideas. Go on, try it. And maybe let me know in the comments what you think.

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I had a chat with a friend a few weeks ago and somehow the discussion veered into personal finance a la money saving apps and investments etc.

Now I’m the first to raise my hands and say I suck at saving/investing. I feel like I save too little and too irregularly. But I’m deciding to do something about it like learning tricks to save money on things like electricity.

Back to the story I asked, out of curiousity, whether she has somewhere she puts away money. She mentioned a certain bank/insurance saving product that pays, wait for it! 5% per annum. I was surprised and then upset. Then I realised there was likely a lot of people like her – putting money into savings or investment plans that paid too little and below the inflation rate. Save N1 million that way and after one year the N1 million plus the interest will be worth less than it is today.

So what are the ways you can save/invest your money to yield the highest possible annual interest while being sure your money is relatively save? Note that an investment/savings product should have a high level of security and return decent interest.

Let’s look at a few we dug up from research;

Money Saving Apps

Over the past few years several fin-tech companies with focus on helping people save and earn decent interest on their saved money have become even more popular. It is easy to see why. Before now you could leave N1 million in your bank savings account without withdrawing/touching it and you will be lucky to get a paltry 1 or 2% interest annually on it.

Enter Savings app that encourage people to save their money and earn anywhere between 10 – 15% interest on it. So basically in one way they promise much higher interest if you save your money with them than with a traditional bank. And for some of them is the beauty of monitoring your accumulating interests via the digital app.

The more popular ones include;

Piggyvest: Piggyvest started as Piggybank in 2016 as a savings only platform. It offers customers/users between 10 – 15% interest on saved amount per annum. Users can transfer money they intend to save or fund their savings account with a credit/debit card. The app lets you save in Naira and also in US dollar with the dollar savings paying 6% interest annually. There is also the Safelock feature which allows you lock away money you don’t want to be tempted to touch in return for up to 15% interest.
Cowrywise: Cowrywise is yet another savings app launched in 2017. It offers users the opportunity to save their money and earn interest. The app allows you choose different savings options to meet your goals. On Cowrywise you can earn up to 15% annual interest on the amount you save.
ALAT (by Wema Bank): ALAT is a digital only bank set up by Wema Bank. Launched in 2017 ALAT lets you set savings goals. You receive a physical debit card which lets you withdraw money from anywhere. You can earn up to 10% annual interest when you save money on ALAT.

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NOTE: This article does not constitute financial advice. Nairabrains will not be responsible for any decisions taken as a result of reading this article. Kindly consult your financial advisor or seek professional financial advice.

nairabrains

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