Award in Fund-Raising for Start-up and Growth of SMEs

The Award in Fund raising for Start-up and Growth of SMEs module seeks to provide students with the skills necessary to assess business plans and develop a funding strategy for an entrepreneurial venture. Students will become familiar with the different sources of funding available across the entrepreneurial life cycle and learn how to identify the most appropriate source for each stage, particularly the emerging sources of crowd funding. Students will also be provided with the skills for a variety of company valuation techniques and how to structure a term sheet for seeking early-stage equity investment, as well as preparing an investment pitch to raise funding.

Knowledge at the end of the module:

1. Apply company valuation techniques to valuate different entrepreneurial companies for sale, purchase and mergers and acquisitions
2. Evaluate and apply the essential components and structure of a term sheet for early-stage businesses seeking equity investment.
3. Assess business plans and identify the appropriate sources of funding for entrepreneurial businesses.
4. Prepare an investment pitch to raise funding from potential investors including business and venture capital firms.

Hours of Total Learning for this module:

• Contact Hours: 58
• Self-Study Hours: 128
• Assessment Hours: 14
• Total Learning Hours: 200

Learning Outcomes:

At the end of the module/unit the learner will have acquired the following skills:

1. Apply company valuation techniques to valuate different entrepreneurial companies for sale, purchase and mergers and acquisitions
2. Evaluate and apply the essential components and structure of a term sheet for early-stage businesses seeking equity investment.
3. Assess business plans and identify the appropriate sources of funding for entrepreneurial businesses
4. Prepare an investment pitch to raise funding from potential investors including business angels and venture capital firms.

Each module will be assessed based on the following components:

1. Quality of Contributions in Forums: 30%
   • Evaluation of participation and the quality of insights shared in online discussion forums.
2. Quality of Contributions in Tutorials: 20%
   • Assessment of engagement and contributions during tutorial sessions.
3. Research-Based Assignments: 50%
   • Completion and quality of research-based assignments that demonstrate understanding and application of the course material.

Passing Criteria:

• Students must achieve an aggregate of 50% or higher across the three components to pass each module.

Scholarship Schemes for Maltese residents:

• MySkills Scheme: Malta residents are eligible for up to 80% reimbursement, capped at €5,000, subject to eligibility criteria. International students would be able to apply for the MySkills Scheme once they obtain their Student Temporary Residence Card (TRC). (For individual modules only)
• Get Qualified Scheme ( Scheme available for Maltese residents ) – 70% refund of course fee as a tax rebate