Jozi Angels Deal Day to highlight investing in startups

When you the words “tech startups” in South Africa come to mind, many still picture the city of Cape Town and the surrounding winelands. But Johannesburg is coming up quick.

It’s why angel investor network Jozi Angels will next month host the inaugural Jozi Angels Deal Day, which will take place in Sandton on 12 June.

Since it was founded in 2015 by Abu Cassim the network’s current 24 angel investors have made 38 investments together. The average investment is about R700 000. The network has not had any exits thus far.

Cassim told Ventureburn in an email that the aim of the day is to create awareness around angel investing and what he calls “the good work being done in the local startup ecosystem”.

“Events like this bring the community together and add to the profile of the Joburg startup scene,” he added.

Jozi Angels Deals Day will create awareness around angel investing

The event is exclusively open to invitees only as capacity is limited, but Cassim pointed out that those who are interested to attend can still enquire about doing so by visiting this link. Startups interested in pitching can do so at this link.

Cassim said while angel investing is a growing segment of the market, it hasn’t seen the explosion of interest as the venture capital (VC) sector has seen in the country, following the updates to section 12J of the Income Tax Act.

“Annual invested angel capital is roughly six percent of the VC market which means we’ve got a lot of headroom to grow in to and consequently opportunity for those involved,” he said.

But he reckons things are changing, particularly with an increase in the number of interested black investors looking to become angels.

Said Cassim: “We’re starting to see a more representative demographic split in angel investing enquiries and will be promoting diversity at the event. This will ultimately result in a broader investor base, more investment diversity and a healthier ecosystem.”

The inaugural Jozi Angels Deal Day will take place on the afternoon of 12 June at Bowmans’s Sandton offices.

Read more: Jozi Angels wants R8m return from R400k invested per startup [Q&A]
Read more: Jozi Angels made 15 investments worth R6m in last 3 years – Abu Cassim