The Digital Incubation Center (DIC) said it aims to raise by 2030 an investment fund worth QR50mn to help finance startup communities by establishing Qatar’s first network of investors aptly named “angel investor network.”

DIC manager Ahmed Laiali spoke to Gulf Times at the sidelines of the “First Angel Investment Boot Camp” held yesterday and said “the proposed total amount of the initial network value would be in the range of QR5mn to QR10mn between a five-year period from 2014 and 2019.”

“The network value will increase simultaneously with the addition of more members of the group and in 15 years we projected that the investment fund would be worth QR50mn,” he said.

Laiali noted that sourcing of investment capital has discouraged potential entrepreneurs from embarking on a business. In the case of established companies, funding is seen as a major stumbling block for business growth.

“In Qatar, the common practice is that entrepreneurs use their own money or they source funds through bank loans. But we have to look beyond that practice because there are still other sources of funding like angel funds,” Laiali said.

According to Laiali, the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (ictQATAR) took the initiative last year to develop the first startup support fund after identifying a lack of grant schemes dedicated to entrepreneurs other than bank loans.

This allowed the DIC to fund six startups in June 2013, Laiali said. “This year we have collaborated with Bora Kizil and Tugce Ergul, the co-founders of Angel Labs, who served as the facilitators of the boot camp,” he said.

“Angel Labs is an angel investing programme for high-net-worth individuals all around the world. Our goal is to make an impact on the liquidity side of the entrepreneurial equation, build connected angel investor communities globally, and create smart capital for entrepreneurs,” Kizil said. “Angel Labs aims to become the largest grassroots angel investor organisation supporting startup ecosystems in over 50 countries around the world, through boot camps by bringing together high-net-worth individuals and providing education on angel investing, form syndicates, and invest in businesses,” he said.

After the boot camp, Kizil said the participants are expected to have increased awareness on the “creation of active angel investors and creation of more smart capital for companies by educating high-net-worth individuals coming from different backgrounds and fostering new initiatives for aspiring investors in communities around the world.”

The initial staging of the angel investment boot camp gathered some 20 Qatari entrepreneurs, investors, and other industry players in the private sector, who are interested in ICT-related (information and communication technology) investments.

While the concept of forming a network of angel investors is practically new to the Qatar business community, the participants have expressed a strong interest in the programme. One participant noted that most company owners in Qatar are still managing their businesses using “traditional” services. She added that “it would be good to learn other industry best practices, take risks, and give the angel investor concept a chance.”

 

 

 

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