Victoria’s start-up agency LaunchVic has opened a new funding round to establish and grow new ‘Angel networks’ in the state.
Angel networks are groups that support start-up investors to syndicate, and leverage fellow investors’ skills including through mentoring investee start-ups and undertaking due diligence. They also provide a ‘front door’ for start-up founders to be able to connect to investors.
With the new round of funding, angel networks will receive up to $300,000 in funding to support the establishment of their operations here in Victoria.
“While the number of formal networks has increased through LaunchVic’s work, the number of angel groups is still lower than in peer ecosystems,” LaunchVic CEO, Dr Kate Cornick, said. “A rise in investor education programs in Victoria supported by LaunchVic has seen the number of informal syndications increase. We would like to see this funding round used to help formalise more angel networks.”
In the past two years, LaunchVic has helped to fund the creation of five angel networks which have recruited more than 200 new investors, resulting in more than $5 million being invested into Victorian start-ups. One of these networks is the Australian Medical Angels, a clinician-focused syndicate that received $300,000 in funding from LaunchVic in November 2021, which helped them set up a Victorian branch to support early-stage MedTech in Australia’s Life Science capital.
“As Victoria’s start-up ecosystem expands, it will become more important than ever to have sector-specific Angel Networks that add diversity to the investor pool and can support a variety of up-and-coming ideas,” Dr Amandeep Hansra, founder of Australian Medical Angels, said of the initiative.
Applications for the funding round will close on Wednesday 15 June.
