The need for patience as an entrepreneur and SMEs when seeking debt facilities (loans, mortgages, overdraft, etc.) has become important. A lot of firms are battling with survival and growth as a result of increased debts. Debt management is often a skill that is often distant from entrepreneurs and SMEs, especially within developing countries.
The current trend for businesses and entrepreneurs is the desire to seek debt facilities when in impact their existing capacity cannot afford. A lot of impact companies within Ghana and by extension Sub-Sahara Africa are depending on donor funds and debts facilities to operate. The removal of such sources of funding causes the collapse of many companies (the US case is just an example). The element of sustainability in their finance is absent. Perhaps the patience of these companies and risk appetite is over the roof. A little patience at growing gradually and demonstrating sound balance sheet over the years would be the panacea to anchoring sustainable growth of these SMEs and entrepreneurs. The need to strengthen organic growth of these businesses (entrepreneurs and SMEs) has become important at a time when the world is seeking to attain the target of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Building from within has always been the strong catch to becoming sustainable. Relying on external funding comes at a cost (that is cost of capital).