An entrepreneur's business plan demands security but also needs to be shown to potential investors. IDG's privacy settings help entrepreneurs balance these needs by selecting what portions of their plan they would like to share with which investors.

Entrepreneurs have control over the display of their plans and the access levels they set will vary from plan to plan. Investors however can increase their access to plans by becoming a paid subscriber, and by improving their credibility rating.

It is easy to share the public summary of a plan with non-registered users with an invitation to register and view the plan in greater details

Business plan ratings are based on IDG's rating of the executive summary.

Plans can be re-rated upon request after significant changes

There are two main benefits. The first is that investors have an immediate insight into the plan strengths, especially when used as part of their preference search. The second is that the raters help strengthen plans through constructive comments. Comments are directed at particular sections of your plan or in relation to one of the twenty rating questions

Multiple bottom-line' is used to describe companies whose mission and operations generate profit as well as measurable, positive impacts for society and or, the environment.

IDG's comprehensive eco/social impact questionnaire and blended rating give investors a quick picture. However, investor preferences and easy search tools give the investor the final decision as to what constitutes desirable social or environmental impact.

IDG's strength lies in the conversations between investors and entrepreneurs. Some investors might be interested in carbon-reducing businesses and some businesses might be offering healthy jobs to an underserved region. IDG gives everyone the chance to meet, discuss and learn more about the social impact of small to medium size businesses.

IDG is the meeting place and workshop for entrepreneurs and investors to collaborate around deals. With templates and resources for investments we reduce transaction costs for reaching investment-readiness. When you are ready to make a deal you may contact one of our premium service providers to help you execute. There are several steps we need to go through before making a deal.

Due Diligence can be a lengthy and difficult process. With IDG's selected premium service providers, investors and entrepreneurs have the opportunity to initiate and manage the financial and legal proceedings necessary for investment.

It is essential that both parties have full confidence in each other and IDG facilitates this in a few key ways. We have credibility document requirements for both parties, we require traditional references and we utilize existing professional reputation platforms such as Linkedin. We also facilitate collaboration between parties around improving the business, building relationships and setting terms and conditions for investments.

The investment period falls generally in line with the typical investment periods in Social Venture Capital Funds, and slightly higher: between 7-10 years. Businesses looking for a second round of investment often happen faster, but the average investment period is approximately 7-10 years.

Kiva is a wonderful and inspiring lending platform that delivers micro loans to individuals typically under $500 USD. IDG is an equity investment platform for the middle market who need quite a bit more capital to make their businesses successful, but they still lack the financing mechanisms of venture capital and angel investment critical to the health of small to medium businesses in the developed world. For more information see "The Gap"

The average deal size IDG offers falls in the category of mesofinance. This is any amount larger than a microfinance loan but too small for normal venture capital interest. Typically a deal size could be anything in the $100,000 and $2 million US dollar capital requirement range. However, with the help of many organizations who offer mentoring and support to entrepreneurs we do anticipate serving a wider range of capital requirements.