Education and Leadership › Women’s Academy › Entrepreneurship and Business › Fundraising and Investment › Course Materials
Every business needs resources to grow. This course compares ways of raising finance, from personal savings and microcredit to grants, entrepreneurship competitions and investors, and teaches you how to write a business plan, give a short pitch, and understand risks and contracts. The subject is taught with care and financial and legal caution, and it is not personal investment advice.
Course page on the learning system
Course details
| Level | Intermediate to advanced |
| Estimated duration | 10 hours of study and practice |
| Prerequisites | The courses “From Idea to Business” and “Small Business Financial Management” |
| Language of instruction | Farsi-e-Dari (with key English terms) |
| Fee | Free |
| Assessment | A quiz after each section and a final exam; pass mark 70%; certificate after approval by the Academy |
After this course you will be able to
- Compare types of financing and the advantages and risks of each
- Write a short business plan ready to present
- Prepare a three-minute pitch and a ten-slide deck
- Review financial offers and simple contracts by asking the right questions
- Stay safe from “investment” and “fake grant” scams
Course outline
- Savings and family
- Microcredit
- Grants and competitions
- Investors
- A short business plan
- Figures and forecasts
- Risks
- Pitch structure
- Ten slides
- Questions and answers
- Ownership and equity
- Loan terms
- Consulting a specialist
- Common financial scams
- Checking organisations
- Protecting your information
Week-by-week learning path
With about 30 to 45 minutes of study and practice a day, you will complete this course in 6 weeks:
| Week | Topic | Weekly output |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Sources of finance | Lessons, practical exercise and short section quiz |
| Week 2 | Preparation | Lessons, practical exercise and short section quiz |
| Week 3 | Pitching | Lessons, practical exercise and short section quiz |
| Week 4 | Contracts and caution | Lessons, practical exercise and short section quiz |
| Week 5 | Security | Lessons, practical exercise and short section quiz |
| Week 6 | Final project and final exam | Completed project and a score of 70% or higher |
Final project
A “financing readiness pack”: a comparison of four sources of finance for your own business, a three-page business plan, a ten-slide presentation and a three-minute pitch script, and a list of questions to ask before accepting any money or contract.
Project assessment criteria:
- A fair comparison of advantages and risks
- Clarity of the plan and figures
- Strength and brevity of the pitch
- Financial and legal caution
Key terms in this course
Financing
Grant
Microfinance
Investor
Equity
Business plan
Pitch
Due diligence
Assessment and certificate
- After each section: a short quiz (70% recommended before moving on)
- Practical exercises in each lesson: for learning; send your questions using the Questions button.
- End of course: final exam (pass mark 70%) and submission of the final project
- Digital certificate after review and approval by the Academy: Request a certificate
Teaching method
Each lesson includes learning objectives, explanations with real examples and images, key terms in Farsi-e-Dari and English, common mistakes, a practical exercise, a self-test and a summary. In every lesson you can ask the teacher questions using the Questions button. The courses are impartial, free and open to all young people.
Get ready now
- Complete the “From Idea to Business” course
- Write a list of the resources you already have for your business
- Review lesson 3.3 of the basics course on spotting fake opportunities
Free and reliable resources
These resources were selected by the Academy team; most of them are in English. See also the Translate option in Chrome. Large files (books, exercise files, videos) will be placed in the Academy’s official Google Drive folder when the course goes live and linked from this page.
- International Labour Organization (ILO), resources on labour rights, employment and entrepreneurship
- OpenLearn – The Open University, hundreds of free short courses with a certificate of participation
- Coursera, courses from leading universities worldwide; most can be viewed for free (Audit)
- edX, free courses from universities such as Harvard and MIT
Help and questions
Questions about this course: [email protected] · All courses: Online Learning Centre · Active course: Computer and Internet Basics
Women’s Academy, Afghanistan Youth Parliament · Free and open to all young people