Looking for grant funding? Get a lawyer to read that agreement

Very young entrepreneurs who get offered grant funding should consult with a lawyer before signing anything, advises Chanzo Capital managing partner and Angel Fair Africa founder Eric Osiakwan.

Osiakwan (pictured above) was speaking during a panel discussion at last month’s Very Young Entrepreneur Education & Acceleration Summit in Johannesburg.

While grant capital, he says, plays a very important role for young startups, especially during their research and development stage — a time when few investors will back them — the receipt of grant funding is often tied to the entrepreneur agreeing to certain conditions around the intellectual property (IP) that they develop.

“So, the critical thing is you need to get real lawyers to read that agreement. I don’t believe there’s anything like free money in this world,” says Osiakwan.

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Featured image: Chanzo Capital managing partner and Angel Fair founder Eric Osiakwan (Supplied)

The Anzisha Prize seeks to fundamentally and significantly increase the number of job generative entrepreneurs in Africa, and is a partnership between African Leadership Academy and Mastercard Foundation. Through Ventureburn, they hope to share inspirational and relatable stories of very young (15 to 22 year old) African entrepreneurs and the people that support them. [learn more]