Vital Stats
- Company: Arbor Capital
- Contact: +27 (0)11 480 8500
- Visit: arborcapital.co.za
Executing a business strategy while dealing with the variables and stresses associated with clients, suppliers, funders, staff, an often onerous regulatory environment and a plethora of competitors is enough to stretch the resources of entrepreneurial businesses to their limits.
Growth can be tricky
But the demands on a business do not stop there. As businesses succeed in executing their strategies they are confronted with different kinds of transactions.
These include the need to raise further capital, make an acquisition, dispose of a portion of the business, find an appropriate BEE partner, restructure the business, gain access to government incentive funding, or even take the business public by way of a listing.
The common theme here is that these transactions impact the capital needs (or the capital base) of the business.
In many instances, this is where an entrepreneurial business starts feeling the need for external assistance. Either because the founders lack the skills and expertise to execute these projects, or because they do not have the resources required to execute these projects while still running their businesses.
The entrepreneur is then faced with finding the right advisor for the job at hand.
This is often not as easy as it sounds, because while there are many advisors available, not all of them are focused on the needs of entrepreneurial businesses – either because transaction sizes are too small, or because advisors do not have business models suited to the needs of an entrepreneurial business.
Assisting entrepreneurs
Arbor Capital was established more than 18 years ago and has been serving entrepreneurial businesses ever since. In Arbor Capital’s definition, an entrepreneurial business is not necessarily a small business, but rather a business still run by or under the influence of a strong entrepreneur.
Finding solutions to the challenges impacting the capital base of the entrepreneur is the strategic focus of our business and is reflected in our slogan ‘Growing Capital Strategies’.
Arbor Capital provides a comprehensive range of integrated corporate finance (capital raising, acquisitions, disposals, BEE transactions, access to government incentive funding) and listing-related advisory services to a wide spectrum of entrepreneurial businesses across various industries.
This includes large public companies, right through to smaller owner-driven businesses.
Success in dealing with entrepreneurial businesses comes from acknowledging and understanding that each entrepreneurial business succeeds for a specific reason, and that this reason can differ vastly from business to business.
This implies that ready-made transaction structures or funding solutions, which are widely available from larger financial institutions, do not necessarily address the needs of the entrepreneurial business.
The key, therefore, is to invest the time needed to understand the client business, its strategic needs and the objectives of the entrepreneur; and to then work with the client to build an appropriate solution for his or her needs.
Entrepreneurs are often frustrated with the inflexibility of larger financial institutions with ready-made service offerings.
Working with entrepreneurial businesses is often challenging because of their unique needs, but can also be very rewarding, as the opportunity exists to build strong and lasting relationships where one is afforded the opportunity to support businesses through various stages of the life cycle.
Arbor Capital is a proud supporter of entrepreneurial businesses in South Africa.
