Help:
This is a short help guide to the BiD Network structures in FAQs.
For most answers given below refer to the Present Your Plan pages, please make sure to read these pages carefully before getting started with writing your plan or before using this Help Guide. If you have a question on which no answer can be found, please send an email to or call us on +31 (0)20 7555000. We will try to answer your question effectively.
To find contact information of our specific National Organising Partners, please go to the country pages, which can be found here.
The questions are structured as follows:
- Registration and editing your profile
- Uploading and writing a business plan
- Participating in a competition
- Networking and matchmaking
- Language
Registration and editing your profile
Q 1: I registered, so why don't I see my complete profile?
Q 2: I lost my secret(pass) word! How can I get it back?
Q 5: How can I be sure that my plan is ‘safe’ with the BiD Network and that it will not be copied?
Q 6: What are the ¨tags¨ for in the personal profile?
Q 7: How is it possible to delete a profile, etc.?
Uploading documents and writing a business plan
Q 11: Why are photos cut off and how to avoid this?
Q 12: I want to upload an existing document as a new contribution; how to proceed?
Q 14: I would like to delete my photo, and upload a nicer one. How do I do that?
Q 15: Can I submit my plan by fax or in hard-copy?
Q 17: Which steps should I take in order to submit my complete business plan?
Q 18: Which steps should I take to submit my plan application?
Q 21. How can you ensure me that the assessment is done in a fair and honest manner?
Participating in a competition
Q 23: Can I submit a plan for my country?
Q 24: I want to submit a business plan, but I already established my business. Can I submit?
Q 25. Can we participate as a team?
Q 26. On what conditions could my plan be excluded from a National BiD Challenge?
Q 27. Is it possible to submit a plan with support of an NGO?
Q 28. How many pages can my complete Business Plan be?
Networking and matchmaking
Q 29. What can I do to improve my chances to attract market capital / investments?
Q 30: When we go through our profiles in BID network we find how many people have seen our profile but we cannot find who have visited our page. Can you can give us this facility also?
Language
Q 33. Where can I find information in Spanish?
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Registration and editing your profile
A 1. I registered, so why don't I see my complete profile?
You can see your complete profile by going the profile button in the top navigation menu bar.
A 2. I lost my secret(pass) word! How can I get it back?
Unfortunately you cannot get your password back, but you can change your existing password by going to change password link and entering your email.
A 3. How do I edit my profile and what are the benefits of filling out all of the parts of my profile?How do I edit my business plan?
To edit your profile you need to log in, then you will see a magenta menu at the top. Click on "My Profile" and then Click on "Edit this Page" button at top left. To login you need to have confirmed the registration email sent to you. Don't forget, this email might be filtered as Spam by your Spam blocker. Or click on "Forgot my Password" to get the email again. Completing your profile with the most information enables you to better connect within the BiD Network. Well prepared profiles have a better your chance of being found by investors or like minded people who can network to you.
To edit your business plan, log on and click on the green box of your plan application, then you will get redirected to the page of your plan. Here you have to click on the red/white button ‘edit this page’ in the top left corner of the page. After that, you are able to edit each piece of text by moving your mouse to the specific text you would like to edit and click on it with your mouse as soon as it turns yellow.
After editing the text, always click on the ‘save’ button at the end of the text area. To finish then click on the "save this page" button in the top left corner of the page.
A 4. What do the trust settings mean? Why is it important and what are the choices? How do I avoid that someone misuses my concept?
Trust settings are for you to protect your intellectual property (IP) and determine the visibility of your plan. You can share as much or as little as you would like with network members. Trust settings are controlled by you. When you are editing your plan you will see a box on the top right with TRUST SETTINGS - you can change this from me to everyone or all members only your contact persons. Below is a small example of what trust settings can do.
View: Who may see and read what you create? This is your default setting. For each item you create, you can change this ´view´ setting.
React: Who do you allow to comment on your contributions?
Link: Who do you allow to add links to your contributions. e.g. keywords?
Edit: Who you will allow to edit your contributions?
Everybody; members of this site; people I know; friends; me
A 5. How can I be sure that my plan is ‘safe’ with the BiD Network and that it will not be copied?
The only people who can see all plans are the webmasters and screeners who have all signed a confidentiality agreement and your coach. Within the context of the BiD Challenge, the jury members, assessors, coaches and members of the BiD Network organisation declare absolute confidentiality with regard to the information and documents that reach them during the contest and after its closure, by signing a confidentiality agreement. Please read the terms and conditions for more information.
To furthermore ensure the safety of your plan, you can set the trust settings of your business plan. For more information on the trust settings and how this works please read the question found under question 4.
A 6. What are the ¨tags¨ for in the personal profile?
The tags are in your personal profile so that you can add text keyword to your profile - so that others can find you & your plan faster. It will score higher in searches.
A 7. How is it possible to delete a profile, etc.?
You cannot delete your own profile, that must be done by an administrator. And you should not have to delete your profile unless you do not want to participate in the BiD Network anymore. If you would like to do that please send a message to the webmaster and we will delete you from the Network.
A 8. I registered yesterday and was told that my login details had been sent to my e-mail address. However, it is now 24 hrs plus and it is yet to be sent.
Check your SPAM folder in your email. Sometimes the confirm mail ends there. I you try to login, you can request the confirm mail again (after your first try to login).
A 9: Why can't I add my information - there are three green balls and somehow the whole thing is blocked to enter my answers.
Please be patient. The three balls symbol means that the website is very busy.
Uploading documents and writing a businessplan
A 10. I already uploaded a portion of my business plan. I now want to continue my work for the rest of the unfinished portion but can not edit my file. How should i do it?
To edit your business plan, first you have to login. Once you are logged in you can edit your business plan by clicking on the plan and then click on the "Edit this page" button on the very top left of your web page. This will put you in edit mode and allows you to add to your plan.
A 11. Why are photos cut off and how to avoid this?
Photos that are very large are cut off because it cannot fit into the page correctly. Try to keep photos in .JPG or .GIF format and below 100k. It also cuts off photos when pictures are very wide.
A 12. I want to upload an existing document as a new contribution. How to proceed?
You can only add documents to your own personal profile, or business plan. Click "Edit this Page" (top left), Then add document Find + document button (page bottom).
A 13. I just thought I finished submitting my plan - but I got a message saying "Please complete the following fields:" - Select between one and three target countries?
This question needs to be answered on the left hand side of the page - in the keywords section.
A 14. I would like to delete my photo, and upload a nicer one. How do I do that?
To delete your photo, go to the Edit this Page button on the top left of your screen. When you are in edit mode, then mouse over the caption on the photo, not the photo itself - then you will see a red X. Press that red X and you will be asked to confirm your deletion. Then you can upload another photo of yourself. Be careful what you erase, because there is no back up of these items!
A 15. Can I submit my plan by fax or in hard-copy?
No, business plans are to be submitted via this website. They will become part of the BiD Network, an online community for Small and Medium sized Enterprise (SME) development in developing countries. The BiD Network is a marketplace where entrepreneurs, investors, experts and organisations can meet and share.
A 16. How do I fill in the figure boxes of my businessplan and which currency do I use? How do I remove the cell protection in the financial plan?
To ensure proper and quick processing of your business plan, we strongly advice you to use US dollars as the currency in your financial template.
When entering a figure like US$ 20,000, you must only enter the digits, so: 20000. The box does not recognize the signs US $, comma signs (,) or dots (.), etc. It only recognizes the numbers 0-9. Furthermore, all figures asked from participants are asked in US$, so there is no need for you to specify this again in the figure boxes.
To remove the cell protection: click on the relevant cell you would like to unprotect, then go to tools in the menu bar and then protection and select “unprotect this sheet”.
A 17. Which steps should I take to submit my plan application?
Please not that it is only possible to submit your complete written business plan after having filled in the fixed plan application format online. You can fill in this format by logging in, clicking on 'new contribution' and then clicking on 'new business plan'. Please fill in this format completely and click on the submit button in order to officially submit your plan. You will receive an email about the further procedure from us after submitting.
A 18. Which steps should I take in order to submit my complete business plan?
More information about submitting your complete plan, as well as the business plan templates, will be available soon. Please keep an eye on our website.
A 19. Is it necessary to use the official BiD Network business plan format and financial templates or can I use my own formats?
You are free to hand in your complete business plan in any format you like after having filled in the plan application online. If you already have a complete business plan, you may upload this as well.
Please note however that the assessment of the complete business plans is based on this official business plan format and financial template , so make sure that all issues mentioned in this given format are covered in your complete business plan!
A 20. I want to remove irrelevant/old/draft documents attached uploaded next to my plan application format online, how do I do this?
You go to the page of your plan application, then you click on "edit this page" (top left corner) and then you will see a small red cross appear next to the name of the document you want to delete. When clicking on this small red cross, it will ask you remove yes/no. Click on yes and you delete the document.
A 21. How can you ensure me that the assessment is done in a fair and honest manner?
All Plan Applications and Business plans submitted on www.bidnetwork.org are checked extensively during the Assessment process. This assessment is executed by means of objective assessment criteria, which can be found here.
Participating in a competition
A 22. What is the agenda of the BiD Challenge 2008? In which countries will there be National BiD Challenges? Will you still be organizing the BiD Challenge International in 2008?
As of this year we will also no longer be organizing the BiD Challenge International. We have come to this decision because we want to be able to put more focus into our National BiD Challenges. The National BiD Challenges that will be organized this year are in: Peru, Colombia, Argentina, Ecuador, Bolivia, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and the Philippines.
If you have a business plan for one of these countries you can submit it online, and compete for prize money. If your plan has as Country of Business another developing country which is listed on the DAC list of the OECD, then you unfortunately can not compete in a BiD Challenge this year.
However, we have as of this year also set up a matchmaking department, which actively works on matching good business plans to investors. This matchmaking is not subject to any specific developing country, as long as the business plan is good enough and is thus accepted through our Assessment process. You can therefore still submit your business plan online if you like and if your plan meets our Assessment standards it could become eligible for matchmaking.
For more information please go to present your plan pages.
A 23. Can I submit a plan for my country?
To check whether your business plan is eligible please read the participation criteria here. One of these criteria is that the Country of Business of your plan must be an Emerging market that is listed on the DAC list of the OECD.
Furthermore the Country of Business determines in which National BiD Challenge you are possibly able to compete. The countries in which the BiD Network organises a National BiD Challenge in 2008 are: Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, Colombia, Argentina, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador or Philippines.
In all other cases, you can submit a plan for Assessment, but you will not be able to compete in a National BiD Challenge.
A 24. I want to submit a business plan, but I already established my business. Can I submit?
Yes, the BiD Challenge is both for established companies and start-up companies. An established company generated sales over the last 12 months and focuses on the expansion or diversification of its existing business. A start-up company has not generated sales yet and focuses on creating a new business.
A 25. Can we participate as a team?
Yes. But, plans are to be submitted on personal title. So choose one member within your team who is responsible for submitting the plan and for representing it. Preferably this is the person that is really going to execute the plan. After submitting, this person can attach other people of the team as co-authors to the plan.
After entering your profile and clicking on the green box of your plan, you are redirected to the page of your plan. On this page please click on the button ‘edit this page’ in the top left corner. Scrolling down, you will find a box called ‘+ author’ , ‘+ reference’ and ‘+ partner’ on the left hand side of the page. By typing a person’s name in one of these fields, you are adding this person as a (co-) author/partner/reference of the plan. Only adding a person as ‘author’ can give this person editing rights.
It is not possible to become an author without having a complete and up-to-date profile on the BiD Network. Besides, the better your profile has been updated, the easier you will be found in the BiD network and the more professional the plan (and with it its authors) will appear to screeners and potential coaches and investors. So please make sure that all authors you add to your plan have a complete profile.
A 26. On what conditions could my plan be excluded from a National BiD Challenge?
You can find all the conditions of in- and exclusion in the terms and conditions. For more information please also go to this page.
A 27. Is it possible to submit a plan with support of an NGO?
The BiD Network focuses on entrepreneurs who aim to run a profitable business in a developing country. If the business is established by or with support of a non-profit organisation, this is not relevant.
The best BiD Network plans are ones with a clear profit motive and the business must therefore be a company and not a non-profit organisation or foundation.
A 28. How many pages can my complete Business Plan be?
The Written Part of your business plan must be no longer than 15 pages (Verdana 10 pdi). This is excluding table of contents page, title page and all possible photos, logos, graphs, financial tables, appendices, etc. you add to the text.
Networking and Matchmaking
A 29. What can I do to improve my chances to attract market capital / investments?
BiD Network has a matchmaking department that focusses on connecting promising entrepreneurs and experienced investors. Please read more about how to become eligible for matchmaking on this page. As investors will use the BiD Network as search engine to find quality business plans, make sure to keep your business plan and personal profile on the BiD Network as up-to-date as possible.
A 30. When we go through our profiles in BID network we find how many people have seen our profile but we cannot find who have visited our page. Can you can give us this facilty also?
We are sorry, but due to the respect for privacy, we cannot enable this feature in our system.
A 31. If i search for the phrase 'power to the people' I don't get the business plan with this respective name. Yet, it is in the BiD Network, so it should be hit no 1, no?
If you are searching for a phrase, the try putting quotes around the phrase to get the exact plan - "power to the people" and that will bring up the plan first.
Language
A.32 My language skills in English are not very good but I have a great plan. What can I do to make a chance?
Try to cooperate with someone who can write good English. Think of an English teacher, (English) students at the nearest university or a company in your neighbourhood that works in the field of your business idea. It is important to know that plans will be assessed mainly on their content and not on the correctness of their English. Furthermore the BiD Network also supports business plans in Spanish. So in the case that this is your language, you are also allowed to submit your plan in Spanish.
A 33. Where can I find information in Spanish?
You can find Spanish information by changing the language on the website into ‘Español’. The links to the different Spanish speaking National Organising Partners can be found here.
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Online Tutorial Videos
Watch the online tutorials video to get the basics of the BiD Network.
The time for each video is listed at right.
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Support:
Rules for requesting support
The BiD Network is an online community. It helps put people in touch with each other. Use it to find people who can support you. ... -
Guide:
General Terms and Conditions BiD Network 2008
This page contains the General Terms and Conditions of the BiD Network. All of the following individuals or organisations are required ...
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Editing & formatting tips
Tips on formatting and writing texts in the BiD Network. To avoid receiving spam, please read the part about handling email addresses!
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Article:
Terminology, Definitions & Glossary of BiD Network