WBAF’s digital ID card – a brand new platform that bundles multiple valuable resources – is designed for entrepreneurs, investors, mentors, consultants, faculty members and university students around the world.
An affiliated partner of the G20 Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI), the World Business Angels Investment Forum (WBAF) aims to ease access to smart finance for businesses from startup to scale-up to exit, with the ultimate goal of generating economic development, jobs and more social justice worldwide.
The COVID-19 pandemic has made it particularly difficult to reach out for any kind of finance – smart or otherwise. In response, the World Business Angels Investment Forum has strengthened its emphasis on innovating, with a focus on easing access to finance. WBAF’s latest innovation is a digital ID card, a virtual platform that is free of charge for entrepreneurs, investors, mentors, consultants, faculty members, and university students around the world.
Baybars Altuntas, WBAF Executive Chairman, says, ‘Entrepreneurs in these post-pandemic times need much more than a clever idea to succeed – they need not just funding, but a complex set of skills. WBAF’s digital ID card programme is designed to help develop those skills in a practical way’. The digital ID provides access to a portfolio of high-quality support materials and services that will enhance the possibility of securing investment. These include quality training, various toolkits, international business mentoring, global networking, and even opportunities to pitch online to investors, all of which give entrepreneurs and SMEs much better prospects of success in post-pandemic economies.
‘Smart finance,’ says Altuntas, ‘is a combination of finance, know-how, mentoring, and networking’. He explained the thinking behind WBAF’s programmes: ‘By drawing on various disciplines, we can create solutions to some of the world’s biggest issues, ranging from access to finance to gender equality to ethical governance, to the commercialization of scientific research, business and digital transformation, and financial inclusion. This comprehensive approach led to the development of our digital ID card’.
The WBAF digital ID card programme is designed to capitalize on the worldwide growth in entrepreneurial activity and venture financing for startups and scale-ups, and to open up access to WBAF’s extensive network of global investors – angel investors, private equity funds, co-investment platforms, wealth management institutions, family offices, VCs, and acceleration centres.
You can apply for a digital ID card in one of four main categories. Each has sub-groups.
- Entrepreneurs: Startup Founders, Global Entrepreneurs, Woman Entrepreneurs
- Investors: Investors, Qualified Angel Investors, Impact Investors
- Mentors: Business Mentors, Personal Coaches, International Consultants
- Academics: University Startups, Faculty Members, Students
The digital ID card programme is supported by the WBAF Business School, the WBAF Investment Promotion Agency (WIPA), the WBAF Angel Investment Fund, and the WBAF Publication House.
Anyone can register free for a WBAF digital ID card at WBAF Digital ID Cards
