Staff Reporter
The Namibia Business Angel Network (Naban) last week held its third pitch event in Windhoek, sponsored by First National Bank of Namibia. Four start-up founders were shortlisted to pitch in hopes of obtaining investment from the network of angel investors.
Investors, start-ups, and external stakeholders from private and public sectors attended the event. Naban received over 40 applications for its pitch event, followed by a diligent pre-selection process. The four promising start-ups who pitched are working to innovate within the courier sector (Two Point Delivery and Logistics), manufacturing and cosmetics (Nel’s Babies and Kiddies), financial services (Pre-Eminence Financial) as well as restaurant and fast food (Eagles Pizza).
The pitchers had the opportunity to pitch for five minutes, which was followed by a 10 minute questions and answer period from the business angels. Questions posed focused on the viability, scalability, regulatory framework within which the start-ups operate and issues around intellectual property.
In a statement, Naban noted it is in the process of facilitating the due diligence process and investment negotiations. If successful, the start-ups will receive a cash injection from the angels in exchange for an equity stake in the start-up.
The new shareholders will then also act as strategic partners to the founders, supporting them for example with strategy advice, contacts and helping with important negotiations.
The Naban angels, some of whom are successful entrepreneurs themselves, understand that early stage funding such as angel investing is the door opener for start-ups. It helps them to fine tune their business models, acquire clients, form partnerships and generate revenue.
Naban comprises 21 individuals from different professional backgrounds. The network association meets once a month to discuss recent trends and developments in the start-up ecosystem. Every quarter, it conducts a pitch event where promising founders can present their company and pitch to secure an investment. By membership agreement, each investor has committed to do at least one start-up investment per year.