{"id":45925,"date":"2013-09-21T12:14:42","date_gmt":"2013-09-21T10:14:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=45925"},"modified":"2013-09-21T12:19:55","modified_gmt":"2013-09-21T10:19:55","slug":"helping-link-start-ups-to-investors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/trending\/45925\/helping-link-start-ups-to-investors\/","title":{"rendered":"Helping link start-ups to investors"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Until recently there were so many gaps in the ICT entrepreneurship ecosystem that new start-ups did not have much of a fighting chance of success.<\/p>\n

However, even with the recent improvements there has still been an \u201cequity gap\u201d for newer start-ups. The creation of the Angel Africa network and its Angel Fair event next week may change things.<\/p>\n

Russell Southwood talks to co-founder and long-time ICT activist Eric Osiakwan.<\/p>\n

The ideas for the Angel Network and Angel Fair came out of an informal lunch at the Global Forum on Innovation and Technology Entrepreneurship where Andile Ngcaba (Convergence Partners) and entrepreneur Eric Osiakwan sat down with a gathering of like-minded entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n

\u201dThe idea was to create a network of angels (see www.angelafrica.net<\/a> ) who could provide early start-up money and things like networks, mentoring and other contacts,” he said.<\/p>\n

“We want to help people go through the classic cycle from idea to product to business more easily. In Silicon Valley, they know how to take care of all this. But in Africa, you need to provide what we\u2019re calling \u2018mentor financing\u2019; in other words all the things that wrap around the finance itself\u201d.<\/p>\n

Eric met up with co-founder Jamie Clyde who among other things had launched the ‘SLOW in the City’ Business Club and SLOW Airport Lounges and kulula connect.<\/p>\n

They then approached the organisers (Art Logic) of Johannesburg\u2019s annual Art Fair, which is attended by high net worth individuals looking to buy artworks. Out of this was born the idea for Angel Fair, which takes place before the annual Art Fair.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe premise is not that this is a conference or summit. They meet to do deals: it\u2019s putting together the high net worth individuals with early start-ups.\u201d The day before the event itself there is a workshop for the start-ups on how to pitch their business and a dinner for the angel investors to \u201cbreak the ice.\u201d<\/p>\n

The next day there will be a panel on the Ins and Outs of Angel Investing from people who\u2019ve been doing it, who will talk about their experiences. Then there will be 10 pitches of 3 minutes each:\u201dIt will be tell us what you do and what\u2019s so exciting about it and you get to mingle with the angel investors afterwards.<\/p>\n

Then there\u2019s a second panel of people talking about having been invested in by angel investors and a second round of pitches. After lunch, there\u2019s then 5 lounges in which the angel investors and start-ups can get together. There will be 25 start-ups present, of which 20 get to do a pitch.<\/p>\n

The ten start-ups announced so far are:<\/p>\n