Courses › The Down Round: Raising Capital When the Market Has Turned

The Down Round: Raising Capital When the Market Has Turned

For founders, chief executives, directors and investors in African growth companies. Know your runway, talk early with investors, read the terms that matter, weigh the alternatives, keep your people, communicate honestly and decide with care.

  • Price₦305,000
  • DurationAbout 240 minutes
  • Access365 days
  • LevelBoardroom
  • You get9 lessons and a boardroom simulation
  • CertificateYes, anyone can verify it

Who it is for

Founders, chief executives, directors, CFOs and investors in African startups and growth companies.

What you will learn

  • Recognise the signals of a down round and act while there are still options
  • Build an honest runway, break-even plan and set of alternatives
  • Talk to existing investors early and manage investor conflicts
  • Read term sheets for preferences, anti-dilution, control and pay-to-play
  • Compare bridges, debt, partners, a sale, a merger and a wind-down on value and risk
  • Keep key people, treat staff fairly and communicate truthfully
  • Decide on a recorded process, understand directors' duties and rebuild with discipline

Course outline

  1. Anatomy of a down round
  2. Know your runway and your options
  3. Talking to existing investors
  4. Term sheets that can sink a company
  5. The alternatives to a down round
  6. People, options and morale
  7. Communicating a down round
  8. Deciding, governance and directors’ duties
  9. After the round: rebuilding and discipline
  10. Boardroom simulation

What is included

  • 9 lessons On a live whiteboard, with an AI instructor who answers from the lesson and cites its source. Questions can go to faculty.
  • A virtual boardroom simulation Face AI board members in a fictional crisis. Scored against a clear rubric (pass mark 75), checked by a person when it is close, with an appeal.
  • A verifiable certificate A certificate of completion with a QR code, with a public page where anyone can check it is genuine. It is not a regulated or accredited qualification.

Level: Boardroom · About 240 minutes · Access for 365 days