The concept of financial inclusion and its role in economic development has been highlighted at recent G20 meetings. Small and medium-sized enterprises, start-ups and scale-ups have been shown to account for the creation of significant numbers of new jobs and are therefore major contributors to economic growth. Access to finance is clearly an important factor in their development. The world clearly needs an innovative way to democratise finance, and we maintain that angel investors can help expand access to finance and equalise opportunities. Lowering the cost of financial services is one way, but the world needs need to explore ever-increasing innovations in technology.
As an affiliated partner of the G20 Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI), the World Business Angels Investment Forum is hosting its Angel Investors Summit 2020 as a global convergence of global leaders of early and post-early stage equity and capital markets and as a part of its World Congress, WBAF 2020, 17 & 18 February 2020. They will discuss in detail the G20’s agenda to increase financial inclusion worldwide and will share information about the 2020 action plans of global leaders of early and post-early stage equity and capital markets in their response to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the GPFI platform.
Angel Investors Summit 2020
The Angel Investors Summit – WBAF 2020 will explore ways to develop an international dialogue between public and private institutions that will empower early and post-early stage equity markets in the context of the worldwide digital transformation. The discussants, prominent global leaders in the world’s investment value chain, will explain how they plan to encourage collaboration between the ecosystems they lead. Full programme is available at www.wbaf2020.istanbul
Financial Inclusion Action Plan as a pillar of the global development agenda
At the 2010 G20 Summit in Seoul, the G20 leaders, recognising financial inclusion as a pillar of the global development agenda, endorsed a concrete Financial Inclusion Action Plan. Financial inclusion was prominently included in the Leaders’ Declaration and was highlighted as an important component of the Seoul Development Consensus and the financial sector reform agenda. The leaders announced the establishment of the Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI) to institutionalize and continue the work begun by the Financial Inclusion Experts Group (FIEG) in 2010. The GPFI, officially launched on 10 December 2010 in Seoul, is an inclusive platform for all G20 countries, interested non-G20 countries, and relevant stakeholders to carry forward the work on financial inclusion, including implementation of the G20 Financial Inclusion Action Plan, which was endorsed at the Seoul G20 Summit.
Angel investment is booming worldwide
More than 90% of the early-stage investments in Europe in 2019 came from angel investor capital. The angel investment market size is more than €10 billion in Europe and more than US$26 billion in the US and Canada. The total size of the world’s early-stage investment market is expected to exceed $50 billion by 2020.The $50 billion market for angel investment promises a $150 billion exit in the next 5 to 7 years.
OECD reports show that more than 96% of the world’s economy is driven by SMEs, entrepreneurs and startups. Many governments have understood the importance of the early-stage investment market in the creation of new jobs and social justice in their countries and have therefore implemented new regulations that provide tax incentives for angel investors, corporate ventures and startups.
Why is angel investment so important?
The reason is simple: only angel investors have the know-how and the networks to put startups and scaleups into the capital markets. If we can create an innovative financial plan for early exits, this will mean more jobs and social justice in a shorter period of time. At the Angel Investors Summit – WBAF 2020, therefore, we will focus also on how family offices and wealth management institutions can foster open innovation and deliver more business value by forming partnerships — partnerships with angel investors, startups, scaleups, high-growth businesses and SMEs.
WBAF invites you to join our global effort to ease access to smart finance.
As a global organisation, the World Business Angels Investment Forum brings together key players of the equity market to discuss the benefits of and the challenges to the investment community’s achieving successful growth for their businesses and to discuss what more can be done to facilitate the democratization of finance by expanding access to and participation in every level of society.
We invite you to join us in our global effort to ease access to smart finance, which will help create more jobs and more social justice worldwide. Your efforts to convert the world economy into a smart economy in cooperation with the World Business Angels Investment Forum are very important.
Panel 1: Global Leaders Action Plans 2020:
Developing angel investment as an asset class in the era of worldwide digital transformation
Panel 2: Announcing Angel Investment 4.0: Angel Investment Funds
Panel 3: Creating opportunities for deeper angel investor engagement in financing smart cities
Panel 4: Innovative techniques to maximise startup potential: Building an entrepreneur-friendly and disruptive community through multi-stakeholder engagement
Panel 5: Developing a global dialogue between startup and FDI ecosystems to increase cross-border investment
Registration is now open
Registration for the Congress is now open, and early-bird rates are available. You can visit the WBAF 2020 official website: www.wbaf2020.istanbul
Maximising the opportunities for your organization
You can contact Christina McGimpsey, Secretary General of the World Business Angels Investment Forum to discuss how you can maximise opportunities for your organisation at WBAF 2020. Her email is: Christina.McGimpsey@wbaforum.org
About the World Business Angels Investment Forum (WBAF)
An affiliated partner of the G20 Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI), the World Business Angels Investment Forum (WBAF) is an international organisation aiming to ease access to finance for businesses from start-up to scale-up, with the ultimate goal of generating more jobs and more social justice worldwide. It is committed to collaborating globally to empower world economic development by creating innovative financial instruments for innovators, start-ups, and SMEs. The Forum interacts with leaders in all areas of society, first and foremost in business and political spheres, to help assess needs and establish goals, bearing in mind that the public interest is of paramount importance. WBAF engages a wide range of institutions, both public and private, local and international, commercial and academic to help shape the global agenda.
About GPFI
The Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI) is an inclusive platform for all G20 countries, interested non-G20 countries, and relevant stakeholders to carry forward work on financial inclusion, including implementation of the G20 Financial Inclusion Action Plan endorsed at the G20 Summit in Seoul. Queen Maxima of the Netherlands is the Honorary Patron of the GPFI.
