LAN launches Sri Lanka’s first Angel Fund to invest in local start-ups island-wide
The Lankan Angel Network ( LAN) has launched Sri Lanka’s first Angel Fund, established with the support of ecosystem development partner Ford Foundation, to catalyse the growth of Sri Lanka’s start- up ecosystem. A first of its kind in Sri Lanka, this fund will be LAN’s flagship initiative moving forward, and is based on Rs. 100 million in investments from 100 individuals investing Rs. 1 million each.
The fund will be managed by LAN’s fund management team, which will identify and evaluate opportunities for investment across the island, including in traditionally underserved regions. Importantly, it is dedicated to investing in, and mentoring and supporting, early- stage start- ups across multiple sectors; from making investments at the pre- revenue stage, to even helping start- ups identify sources for future funding.
An ancillary goal of the fund is to provide wider visibility into the deal flow, as well as curating the pipeline, so founders and start-ups enter the ecosystem better prepared, especially in terms of being more knowledgeable about the extensive funding and networking opportunities already available to them, both here and abroad, LAN said in a media release.
LAN CEO Chalinda Abeykoon said; "Start- ups have begun emerging from every corner of the island. Yet, while the number of start- ups has grown, access to capital is still restricted by its scarcity, exclusivity and high cost. This hinders growth and will eventually cause a higher than average incidence of start- up failure. The Angel Fund hopes to disrupt these challenges by democratising the fundraising process and giving our start-ups a leg up so they can better succeed."
Highlighting the growing confidence in the emerging local start- up ecosystem, the Angel Fund features significant representation from Sri Lankan expatriates in Singapore, UK, Canada and USA, comprising 15- 20 per cent of the fund, having seen interest from other markets such as Australia and New Zealand as well. In the future, the fund plans to leverage these international networks to an even greater extent, to build bridges to overseas markets for startups to scale their products.
Additionally, LAN Board Members and Patrons have also been an integral part of this funding drive, with a number of local and overseas investors having been personally invited by them. Many LAN Board Members and Patrons have also personally invested in the Fund.
“Today, most start- ups lack Smart Money ( Wealth and Knowledge). The Angel Fund, which is exclusively made up of 100 high net worth smart investors, aims to fill this void by helping small and medium sized enterprises/ start-ups to accelerate growth. Through this fund, start-ups can now have access to the investor's sector knowledge and contacts, have better discipline due to outside scrutiny and access to BA mentoring/ management skills,” said Hanif Yousuf, Patron, LAN and CEO, Expolanka Holdings.
The launch of the fund was anchored by presentations and a panel discussion on what to expect from the Angel Fund, wherein investors were briefed about important details pertaining to the Fund and its structure. Speakers included Anarkali Moonesinghe (former CEO of CIMB Sri Lanka), Prajeeth Balasubramaniam (Managing Partner at BOV Capital), Chalinda Abeykoon (CEO of LAN), Dr. Arittha Wikramanayake ( Precedent Partner at Nithya Partners) and Ruvini Fernando (Director – Capital Project and Infrastructure and Deals Strategy at PwC Sri Lanka).