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Tradewatch
•
The Official E-Newsletter of the Caribbean Export Development Agency • Vol.9 No. 1 January - March 2015
access to finance
them and they should not be taking my money”. He uses the analogy
of an athlete, “at the end of the day we are going to improve their
performance to an Olympic standard”.
For Caribbean entrepreneurs that are interested in seeking a
partnership with an angel investor, Gray advises “there are three
qualities companies within the Caribbean must have to attract
investors.” These are the willingness to take a partner and to
be engaged and coached by that partner; an ambition to grow a
significant business not only locally but that can go Pan Caribbean
and internationally; and the recognition that there has to be returns
on investment for the investor. All in all it is the willingness to work
with others to build a business of substance that is required for any
entrepreneur to attract an Angel Investor and grow a successful
global business.
Over time business angels have merged to form Angel Networks
where individual investors form groups and pool their resources
to: make larger investments; make better deals; secure talented
Three Qualities for Attracting Angel Investors
•
Willingness to take a partner and to be engaged
and coached by that partner
•
An ambition to grow a significant business not
only locally but that can go Pan Caribbean and
internationally;
•
The recognition that there has to be returns on
investment for the investor.
human resources and better facilities; have a diversity of industry
knowledge, management skills and financial assumptions which
makes it more efficient in the screening processes; share in the risk
through shared investments and diversification of finances into
investment portfolios and influence regulatory and policy issues
with governments. An angel network is thus, an organization that
helps investors find companies to invest in, focussing primarily on
business support and acting as a liaison between the entrepreneur
and the investors.
Gray naturally supports the development of angel networks,
encouraging cooperative investment by building portfolios of 10 or
15 companies, sharing the investments with other angels within the
network. This is considered good practice as it not only shares the
financial risk but also pools together the expertise explaining “I may
have the expertise in setting up the business but another member
may be more appropriate to mentor the company in manufacturing
while another may have the experience in international sales. So we
will pass the company around at varying stages of its development
to share the skills within the network”.
Caribbean Export is in the early phase of developing an angel
network in collaboration with World Bank/InfoDev with the aim of
bringing together Caribbean entrepreneurs and angel investors from
the region. It is hoped that the development of a Regional Angel
Investor Network will provide an alternative avenue for start-up
firms to access finance from traditional banking or even grants.
(TW)