Gareth Manning, Gleaner writer
Chairman of Pan Caribbean Financial Services, Richard Byles, welcomes guests to Pan Caribbean's Economic Breakfast Forum, which was held on Friday at the Terra Nova Hotel on Waterloo Road in St. Andrew. - Contributed
THE TECHNOLOGY Innovation Centre (TIC), at the University of Technology, will provide equity investments for 10 start-up companies through the implementation of the Angel Investment Network.
Angel Investment is a multi-national investment network that operates primarily in the United States. The organisation brings together groups of individual investors who assess, mentor and provide start-up capital for young companies. There are some 225,000 active networks in the U.S. that have collectively pumped US$22.4 billion into 48,000 different start-up companies over the past year.
Former director of the TIC and vice-chairman of the board, Sandra Glasgow, says the network should provide a vehicle for equity for the 10 companies in the centre's incubator. "Those companies need equity investment. They are too young to go to a bank and borrow money at 23 per cent. So we are looking for a vehicle for equity investment and this is the whole reason we thought there was a good fit between the incubator and the network," said Mrs. Glasgow.
She was speaking to The Gleaner at the post-seminar presentation on 'Developing a Sustainable Angel Network for Jamaica'. Mrs. Glasgow says the TIC will act in the place of the network to facilitate the assessment of each company.
IDB FUNDING NETWORK
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is funding the network. Mrs. Glasgow notes that the IDB was approached for its assistance because of the organisation's involvement in entrepreneurial-based projects in Latin America and the Caribbean.
"We have approached them to get financing under this project to provide us with technical assistance to really get the network going; some of the education aspects the training of members, the training of entrepreneurs; and, study visits for members to go and visit other networks."
Director of the centre, Valerie Tappin says Jamaican- Canadian billionaire Michael Lee Chin has committed funding for the organisation. Mr. Lee Chin, who is also chairman of the network in Jamaica, will provide some US$5 million over five years.
