Indian Angel Network and More Indian Investors Heading to Sri Lanka this October
Called Asia’s largest annual startup investor forum, The Asian Business Angel Forum (ABAF) regularly attracts angel investors, venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, policy makers, government officials, and an array of high net worth individuals to form one big opportunity for up and coming entrepreneurs to form a strategic network. The investor forum, ABAF, prior to this has taken place in Singapore, Malaysia, China, India, New Zealand, Korea, and Hong Kong. According to media reports, since its first edition held in Singapore, ABAF has come to be recognized as a successful and effective platform among startup stakeholders. That inaugural event saw more than 250 influential business leaders and investors of Southeast Asia, Asia Pacific and Middle East showing up as a sign of their commitment to making a change through innovative startup ideas
This time around ABAF 2017 is scheduled to be held in Sri Lanka in October and we hear from the organizers and hosts of the event, the Lankan Angel Network (LAN), that a host of popular names from Silicon Valley, Australia, UK, Hong Kong, China, Korea, Israel, Malaysia, Singapore, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and India.
Indian investors or investors who started out in India will be on show, front and center looking for startups and looking to share their knowledge with the international crowd present. Padmaja Ruparel, president of the Indian Angel Network (IAN); Rajan Anandan, vice president of Southeast Asia and India for Google; Pankaj Jain, former head of 500 Startups in India and now a member of the investment committee at Wadi Accelerator based in the US; Jayesh Parekh, managing partner at Jungle Ventures based in Singapore and Sanchayan Chakraborty, partner at Aavishkaar are expected to appear at ABAF 2017, Sri Lanka. In addition to two investment Aavishkaar has made in Sri Lanka (one a food processing company and another a logistics firm), the impact investor from India will also be a prominent investor tying up as a leading sponsor for the Sri Lankan start competition, Venture Engine 2017.
Venture Engine is the result of a 2012 collaboration between BOV Capital of Sri Lanka, and the Indian Angel Network.
Venture Engine 2017 is slated to coincide with ABAF, once again hosted by Sri Lanka’s LAN, the island’s pioneering business angel network. Venture Engine is a competition for startups from around the world to pitch their ideas to a select set of investors who will choose to invest and fund the growth stages of young businesses.
Hosting ABAF 2017 is hoped to be the watershed moment for Sri Lanka’s still nascent but promising startup ecosystem and its key players, effectively putting the country in the international spotlight.
The Lankan Angel Network has more than 75 member investors who have collectively invested over (Sri Lankan) Rs. 2 billion in 25 Sri Lankan startups.
This year’s Venture Engine competitors are largely companies that have a business model proven in the market with some proof of revenue. Several of the startups will be seeking seed funding while others will be looking to convince investors to get on board for series A round of funding.
Other prominent ABAF 2017 speakers include Dr. Yehoshua (Shuki) Gleitman, chairman of GIBF (Guangzhuo Israel Biotech Fund); Dr. Samson Tam, chairman of the Hong Kong Business Angel Network (HKBAN); Dr. Mark Hon, chairman of Business Angel Network South East Asia (BANSEA); David Chen, cofounder of AngelVest and founding chairman of Harvard Business School Alumni Angels of China; Brigitte Baumann Gervais, founder and CEO of Go Beyond Early Stage Investing (UK), and Jordan Green, Chairman of ABAF/Melbourne Angels.
