Following the Lagos Angel Network’s (LAN) March 2nd announcement of its intention to raise N100 million for Lagos-based startups, the first Lagos StartUp Dealday event kicked off in March. The final pitch evening held on the 31st and N50m was committed by three Dealday syndicates, to the three startups that won that round. LAN (in conjunction with VC4Africa, the Africa Business Angel Network (ABAN), hubs, incubators and accelerators) plans to make this event a quarterly one.
The programme is a rigorous one. We know this because 250 startups applied for the programme, but only 10 were shortlisted to make their pitches before the judges. Even then, only 5 made it to the final round where 3 showed the most promise and were selected. The judges comprised of LAN members, DealDay judges and syndicate members.
This is a good initiative but what exactly do we know about the organisers? LAN is the first angel network in Nigeria, founded in 2014, and has been on the tech scene since then. With Dotun Sulaiman as the Chairman and names like Collins Onuegbu and Segun Olukoya on its board, the Network has become an authority on startup investment in Nigeria, investing in more than a dozen Lagos startups. ABAN is broader in scope, targeting Africa as a whole and seeks to develop early stage investor networks and elicit interest in opportunities in Africa. Finally, VC4Africa is a platform for startup funding and also an online community – the largest, actually – of entrepreneurs and investors who seek to revolutionise the continent.
Seeing as the first StartUp DealDay was a success, the second one has been scheduled for the 30th of June. So if you know your startup can really kick ass, you should keep your eyes peeled for information on the websites or social media accounts of the organisers. The Lagos Angel Network website is http://ift.tt/1O3ut7p and their twitter handle is @EkoNetwork. Africa Business Angel Network website is www.abanangels.org and the twitter handle is @ABANAngels. And you can reach VC4Africa on their website, www.vc4a.com and their twitter, @vc4Africa. Also, if you are an investor with interest and resources, you could contact LAN at secretariat@lagosangelnetwork.net for information on how to register.
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