The Indian Angel Network (IAN), a leading network of angel investors in the country, has agreed to provide mentoring to budding IT entrepreneurs at the Startup Village, Kalamassery, the first telecom incubator under public-private participation in the country.
The pact was formed at a meeting between IAN president Padmaja Ruparel and Startup Village CEO Sijo Kuruvilla George on Thursday.
“The IAN has agreed to mentor the budding entrepreneurs of the Startup Village.
The startups which are selected after the mentoring session will be provided with the expertise for raising funds and creating a judicious revenue model for the enterprises.
They will also be given constant access to high-quality mentoring, vast networks and inputs on strategy and execution,” he said.
“We are planning to have collaborations with the IAN.
It will give a wider exposure to the nascent companies at the Startup Village,” said Sanjay Vijayakumar, chairperson of the governing board of Startup Village.
Padmaja delivered a lecture on ‘Structuring a Business Plan to Pitch to Angel Investors and Angel Funding.
’ “Entrepreneurship converts job seekers into job creators.
It creates employment, jobs, wealth, innovation and self-sustaining economic growth,” she said.
“The IAN is the country’s first and largest business angel group with over 200 investor members who are successful entrepreneurs and dynamic CEOs,” she said.
The IAN has members from across India and overseas and it holds entrepreneur pitch meetings in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Pune every month.
“Our concept has found resonance with companies like Intel, Google, SIDBI, Sequoia, Nexus and RVCF,” she said.
The IAN serves as a platform for bringing together successful entrepreneurs and CEOs from India and abroad who are interested in investing in startups and early stage ventures having the potential of creating disproportionate returns