An affiliated partner of the G20 Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI), the World Business Angels Investment Forum (WBAF) will focus on angel investors partnering with private equity funds at the World Congress of Angel Investors in 2019. The discussions will explore how private equity funds can foster open innovation and deliver more business value through partnerships with angel investors, start-ups, scale-ups, high-growth businesses and SMEs. The CEO-Preneurship Summit will focus on connecting angel investors with corporate ventures, while the FinTech Summit will deal with issues of financial inclusion and ways to democratise access to finance from start-up to scale-up to exit. LPs, start-ups, scale-ups and angel investors will be able to connect at the Take Investment Summit and on the Global Pitching Stage.

On their retirement, corporate CEOs will have more time to mentor start-ups, scale-ups, high-growth businesses and SMEs. They come with a good financial package and a vast network that they have built over the years. The only thing they may lack is know-how: they need to learn about the principles of investing in start-ups and about founding a company from scratch. The time is now right for the CEOs of today to take a smart step — to focus on the potential of their future role as angel investors. The World Business Angels Investment Forum is taking the initiative, creating an international platform to support the transitioning of today’s CEOs to the qualified angel investors of tomorrow. WBAF believes that G20 countries can do more to foster economic development by involving CEOs more directly in early-stage equity markets.

The WBAF wants to give 100 start-ups, scale-ups and high-growth businesses an opportunity to connect with hundreds of highly qualified angel investors from five continents. We are therefore allocating a special area at WBAF 2019, where 100 start-ups, scale-ups and high-growth businesses will each have a designated area to showcase their business. The WBAF Take Invest Summit 2019 will essentially be a co-investment platform for angel investors, start-ups, scale-ups and high-growth businesses. In addition to opening an exhibition booth, each team will be asked to make a 3-minute pitch to investors on the Global Pitching Stage.

The World Business Angels Investment Forum offers a wide variety of workshops at WBAF 2019, using a range of inputs (case studies, panel discussions, and presentations, to name a few), all of which encourage active participation and interaction on the part of those attending.The WBAF 2019 Workshops serve not just business angels; all types of stakeholders are welcome.

After the first cohort of the QBAC+ program at the London Stock Exchange Group, the next cohort of the certification program will start immediately after WBAF 2019. An intensive course will be held in Istanbul at the Swissotel The Bosphorus 20 – 22 February, which will provide an opportunity to be recognised as Qualified Angel Investor. For anyone new to angel investing, this is an invaluable course that covers the most important aspects of investing and ways to avoid the pitfalls angel investors may encounter. This course is for professionals (including CEOs) from listed companies or anyone who has an entrepreneurial background,directors of business angel networks, acceleration and incubation centres and technoparks and anyone who wants to set up a business angel network or create a business angel investment group.

With its Excellence Awards, the World Business Angels Investment Forum looks beyond borders. It seeks to promote and nurture start-ups, scale-ups, high-growth businesses, SMEs, angel investors, and a dynamic business community throughout the world. From business angels to policymakers to academics, the Awards salute those who stand out in imagining, discussing, and shaping the future of an entrepreneurial world.