What is Angel Investing?
Angel investing is still a nascent concept in Kenya as most people do not understand the role of an Angel Investor to startups. An Angel investor is more than a financier as business angels should offer the cash, mentorship and introductions to their investee companies, usually interacting at least once a month. It is well researched that Angels who have this level of interaction record better returns than those who do not. As Viktoria Ventures we have defined an Angel as someone who is willing to make an investment of at least USD 5,000 in an early stage venture per year, is able to make at least five introductions per year and allocate at least one hour of coaching per month. Having said that we wish to reiterate that we are committed to bringing business angels together to create a platform that will catapult young, innovative and scalable businesses to tomorrow’s conglomerates!
Our Journey in Angel Investing
We started the journey towards creating our Angel Network in December 2014, when we showcased four early-stage ventures to a group of aspiring Business Angels. We held our second pitching event in February 2015, where we showcased five startups from different sectors. During the same event we also brought an experienced Angel Investor from Israel to take our business angels through an angel investment all the way from appraisal process, due diligence, valuation, investment and the process of value addition. Our third event was in April 2015, and it was a technical session as we realized that we needed to bridge the information gap on angel investing. The event shed light on how to evaluate an angel investment, financing options including convertible debt and straight equity, as well as the key terms in a termsheet. We were also honored to have a successful entrepreneur share ‘His Story’ on how angel investing helped him realize his dream of providing a local payment platform.
Our Partnerships
ViKtoria Ventures acknowledges that there are synergies to be derived from partnerships and we made 2015 the year of collaborating with other players in the ecosystem. We partnered with the Africa Business Angels Network (ABAN) where we hosted a very seasoned Angel from the European Business Angel Network, Ms. Brigitte Bauman. Brigitte shared her experience as an Angel Investor in Europe, her journey and her key considerations when making angel investments. The event targeted aspiring and experienced business angels seeking to learn about early-stage investing. ViKtoria was also represented at the Africa Business Angels Summit and DEMO Africa in Lagos in September 2015. During the summit we were able to meet with other angel networks from other parts of Africa and learn more from each other.
ViKtoria Ventures is also proud to be associated with the 2015 Kenya International Investment Conference (KIICO). We sourced and coached five start-ups that were showcased in the ICT Sector at the conference in November 2015.
We look forward to strengthening these partnerships and creating more in 2016 and beyond.
ABAN AND GBAN Recognition
2015 was also the year ViKtoria Ventures joined African Business Angel Network (ABAN) where we also sit in the board. During the year we were also appointed The National Lead (Kenya) for Global Business Angel Network (GBAN). Our role in this capacity includes linking business angels with other actors in the entrepreneurial ecosystems around the world, evangelizing angel investing, fostering communication between angel organizations from different parts of the world, and bringing together novice and mature angel investors. We have already started work with with angel groups from other parts of the world to learn how we can strengthen our work angel investing in East Africa.
Funding the Creative Sector with HEVA
During 2015 we also partnered with HEVA fund a creative early stage fund investing in businesses within the creative sector in the fashion, music and handcrafts value chain. We worked with HEVA helping to design, select, invest in and manage their first even financing round for creative startups. You can read more about our work with HEVA here.
Viktoria Ventures Angel Network in 2016
We take pride in everything we have achieved in 2015, and look forward to an even bigger 2016. We shall start the year with a pitching and training event in February 2016, where we hope to give you several options to put your money in! We shall have subsequent events in May, August, and November 2016. We are also keen on closing a number of deals before the end of 2016.
We look forward to working with you to pool funds for the disruptive early-stage businesses in the ecosystem.
From,
ViKtoria Ventures
