UKBAA Angel Investment in Diversity Guidance launches
The UKBAA Angel Investment in Diversity Guidance, a series of best practice actions aimed specifically at the angel investment market, has been launched.
UKBAA CEO Jenny Tooth OBE unveiled the best practice guidance, which covers ten core areas addressing pipeline and internal processes; creating strategic commitment and diversifying the investment base. The guidance aims to help address the current barriers and challenges experienced by many diverse founders seeking to access angel investment. Actions also include addressing the lack of investor diversity with women investors in angel groups at only 16-18% and investors from Black, Asian and Ethnic Minorities currently making up only 11% of the angel investment community.
Jenny was joined by a panel of key players in the market including Shanika Amarasekara MBE, chief impact officer at British Business Bank; Rodney Appiah, chairman & co-founder of Cornerstone Partners; and Helen Oldham, founding director at NorthInvest, to explore what steps we, as individuals, groups or organisations, can take to create a diverse, equal, and inclusive angel and early-stage investment ecosystem here in the UK.
Angel investment is the most significant source of early-stage risk capital for innovating growth businesses, with angels bringing not only equity funding, but business experience, strategic advice, contacts and much more to founders, entrepreneurs and start-ups. In the current ecosystem many women founders, Black, Asian and Ethnic Minority founders, and those from other underrepresented groups, do not have access to this vital source of funding.
Commenting on the launch UKBAA CEO Jenny Tooth OBE says: “We are pleased to present the Angel Investment in Diversity Best Practice Guidance which draws directly on the combined expertise of many valued members of our investment community who have provided their insights and ideas on what more can be done to support investment in diversity and examples of good practice. We hope that, with the help of these tools and resources, we can all work together to create a meaningful increase in investments in diverse founders and ensure a sustainable shift in diversity, equality, and inclusion across our entrepreneurial finance ecosystem.”
Rodney Appiah, co-founder & chairman, Cornerstone Partners says: “We welcome this important initiative from the UKBAA to provide practical guidance, tools and resources to promote a more inclusive investment ecosystem. We hope that this guidance, which is a collaborative effort of the angel investor community, will encourage and further develop the efforts already being made in the early stage investment industry to fund exceptional UK businesses, regardless of background or gender.”
Deepali Nangia, UKBAA Angel Investor of the Year & co-founder Alma Angels says: “We need more angel investors that represent the human heterogeneity that we see around us so we can fund companies that don’t just solve a problem for a certain species of people. To create new angels, one needs to develop an ecosystem of support, a community and lots of resources. This new UKBAA guidance will be a vital tool for the Angel investment community to enable this.”
