IN PREVIOUS columns we spoke about how being green, environmentally conscious or being aware of sustainable development issues can lead to business opportunities and job creation.

We spoke about how recycling can have a revenue-making angle. Many of the e-mails we received from Sowetan readers dealt with other types of products and services that some of our readers currently offer, or want to offer to the public.

These products included solar water heaters and rechargeable lighting for small houses, to name a few.

Green products and services are becoming more common and, at some stage, these small "green" businesses and entrepreneurs will have to approach a bank for funding.

Here are some points to keep in mind when approaching a bank or other financiers.

Most of the suggestions are just as relevant to products or services that aren't necessarily "green", or sustainable development-focused.

• Do not oversell. Be confident about your product; but be honest and truthful about what it can and cannot deliver.
• It is important that you have accurate and correct data. Your sales forecasts and the cost of the product or service must be well thought out and must be able to withstand the scrutiny it will face.
• Don't baffle people with complexity, but rather with your ability to be clear and concise.
• It is crucial to have a pilot or demonstration project up and running. Very few financiers or banks will be able to fund your pilot project. Show them that the idea works and in this way you will be in a much better position.
• How will your after-sales support work? This is an important point where you can differentiate your product, or service from a potentially cheaper imported product that could suffer from a lack of after-sales support.
• Even the most technically complex project must still be expressed in traditional financial terms, because this is what banks and financiers look for. These financial terms include Net Present Value (NPV) and Internal Rate of Return (IRR) calculations;

Many organisations and events ask for funding or sponsorship and companies can simply not sponsor all of them. It is often easier to obtain funding if you can illustrate that your "green" or sustainability event is indeed sustainable. So, with the money you want from a sponsor can you build momentum and self-sustain the endeavour, or will you need frequent further funding?

To give you a practical example:

If an organisation wants equipment for it to plant trees, it is going to need funding for spades and other gardening equipment.

From there, the equipment can be used over and over again to plant many trees.

If on the other hand, a sponsorship will be used mainly to cover costs like branding of T-shirts, it can be argued that this event is not self-sustaining and for this reason it is not the best event to fund.

Then ask yourself two questions before you approach a sponsor for money:

• What does the event leave behind it after it is over?
• Would you use your own money for the event?

If you can answer both truthfully, then you will have better insight into what the potential sponsor would be interested in.