US-based angel investor network Keiretsu Forum has signed an exclusive partnership with the NS Raghavan Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning (NSRCEL) at the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIM-B).
The association, that was founded in 2000 and has 39 chapters around the world and more than 1500 investors and members, will help facilitate innovation and entrepreneurship with an emphasis on educating entrepreneurs, investors and venture funding ecosystem participants on business formation, new technology platforms and global best practices.
“NSRCEL at IIM-B has been constantly striving to create a network that its mentees and incubatees can benefit from. Angel investors have an important part to play in facilitating the growth of entrepreneurship. A global forum like Keiretsu can make a huge positive difference to the funding phenomenon,” said G Sabarinathan, Chairperson, NSRCEL.
“We want to bring angel funding within the reach of every start-up with a commercially viable business model,” said Randy Williams, Founder and CEO of Keiretsu Forum. Keiretsu Forum Bangalore will be formally launched on September 11.
“We want to ensure that investors who are looking for opportunities are provided a steady flow of quality deals and the opportunity to engage with companies,” he said.
“There are people here trying to address uniquely Indian problems and opportunities from agriculture and rural needs to cutting-edge innovations in space travel. These ideas and innovations must be nurtured and these entrepreneurs mentored to ensure they achieve full potential. That takes more than money. It takes committed, serious investors who are willing to be patient, and capable of leveraging their networks to help,” Mr. Williams added.
While on the one hand, Indian start-ups looking for early stage funding will appear on the radar of international investors through Keiretsu Forum’s global chapter network, on the other, Indian investors looking for early-stage opportunities will get access to global deals through the same network.
“There will be global deal flow as well as value creation,” said Denny Kurien, President & CEO of Keiretsu Forum Bangalore.
“In today’s world, every technology and product is international. The resources required to create a winning company can’t be supplied by one or two people. The resources – money, people, partnerships, channels, and access to customers are diverse and distributed,” said Robin Bisarya, Co-President of Keiretsu Forum Bangalore.
“The start-ups most likely to succeed are those that address this need from the very beginning and prepare their corporate structure, intellectual structure and personal policies accordingly, and we will help them do that,” Bisarya added.