Angel Fund Investment in the Early Stage Startups Ecosystem of Kerala

Abstract

Angel investors are very important for small and medium sized enterprises in
Kerala. Because they provide more than money. They are hands-on investors and contribute their skills, expertise, knowledge and contacts in the businesses they invest in. They are wealthy people with great business experience. They are willing to invest and offer their wealth and knowledge to owners of small and medium sized enterprises and to entrepreneurs to start or develop their businesses. One of the attributes of angel investors is that they like to remain anonymous. Due to this attribute, a lot of ideas can not be accomplished. To eliminate this, many countries establish angel investor syndicates and networks. These syndicates and networks facilitate the process of matching entrepreneurs and angel investors.

An angel investor or angel (also known as a business angel, informal investor, angel funder, private investor, or seed investor) is an affluent individual who provides capital for a business start-up. A small but increasing number of angel investors organize themselves into angel groups or angel networks to share research and pool their investment capital, as well as to provide advice to their portfolio companies. A high net worth individual, acting alone or in a formal or informal syndicate, who invests his or her own money directly in a unquoted business in which there is no family connection and who, after making the investment generally takes an active involvement in the business.