Lagos Angel Network offers N50 million seed-funding to start-ups

Nigeria’s leading angel network, the Lagos Angel Network (LAN) has announced a seed funding of between N50 million and N100 million for its first round of Lagos Startup DealDay in 2017.

The Lagos Startup DealDay which takes place three times a year and is open to selected start-ups in target sectors. The DealDay event for the first quarter of 2017 will take place on March 24.

Start-ups that make it through the application and selection process will have the opportunity to pitch their businesses before a closed panel of angel investors. LAN and its partners including VC4A, the Africa Business Angel Network (ABAN), Lagos tech hubs, incubators and accelerators are organising the DealDay event.

In press release sent to BusinessDay, LAN said the seed funding was increased this year for ventures that come through the DealDay to between N25 million and N50 million.

“This is as a result of increased fund raising by members of the network and also the syndicates that invest through the network. In 2016, the network had three pitch events through which it invested in some of the fastest growing start-ups in Nigeria including Cafe Neo and Big Cabal Media,” LAN wrote.

Explaining the goal of the seedfunding initiative, Collins Onuegbu told BusinessDay that the DealDay which was introduced in 2016 has helped simplify the process for sourcing deals, raising money and investing in start-ups.

“The program allowed the development of syndicates, five by the end of the year that worked to deepen the capacity for fund raising and deal selection. The syndicates made of both LAN and non-LAN members grew the number and reach of angel investors in Lagos and allowed LAN to reach a wider audience of potential angel networks in the country,” Onuegbu said.

He further disclosed that the network was not able to do many deals in the previous year because of “the quality of deals, failure of deals to go through the due diligence process, and valuation issues. But we did make a couple of deals that we are excited about. And by the end of the year when we sat down and looked at how far we had come, we reviewed some of our processes to standardize the program and ensure its sustainable.”

For the first quarter, qualified start-ups are invited to apply and must ensure they have a venture profile published on the VC4frica platform with their most recent pitch deck attached before the deadline. The more information provided (commercial, legal and financial), the better your chances. Video pitches (no more than 60-90 seconds long) by the team, customers and investors are encouraged but not required.

LAN added that start-ups that will be considered must have been in operation between two years and five years with track records of financial performance and paying customers for their products and services. They must also be registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and posses a full time leadership team.

The winning start-ups will receive seed-funding of up to N50 million each in five investment syndicates.