Asean Angel Alliance Summit 2018 celebrates angel investment in region

• Opportunity for investors & startups to connect, engage and contribute to growth
• Debut of Asean-wide pitching competition, Enter the Tigers’ Lair with 10 startups

THE Malaysian Business Angel Network (MBAN) will be holding its annual conference on the 27th and 28th of November 2018 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with Cradle Fund Sdn Bhd as main sponsor.

Previously known as the MBAN Summit, and having the reputation of being one of the most impactful and widely anticipated events in the region, the event has now been rebranded and will be known as Asean Angel Alliance (AAA) Summit.

Established in 2016, the AAA is a non-profit collaborative platform for angel groups and other early-stage ecosystem players operating within Asean member countries that allows them to cooperate and work together on activities of mutual benefit. The AAA is a neutral platform for collaboration and is independent and non-political in nature.

AAA Summit 2018 is themed “Celebrating Asean Angel Investment” and will provide unique opportunities for the angel investment community and high-caliber startups from the region to connect, engage, and contribute to the advancement of angel investment and to promote and increase the visibility of angel investments in startup ventures in the region.

One of the key highlights of the summit is the premiere of the Asean-wide pitching competition, “Enter the Tigers’ Lair” where 10 Asean startups selected via a regional competition will be given the unique opportunity to pitch their business plans to the “Tigers", a panel of successful entrepreneurs and funders. The pitching session will take place, live in front of an audience of over 200 angel investors.

The summit is scheduled to be officiated by the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dr Mahathir Mohamad with closing remarks by the Finance Minister of Malaysia, Lim Guan Eng. The summit is poised to attract more than 200 delegates including angel investors, ecosystem players, government agencies, and entrepreneurs from across Asean.

“The diversity and growth in the number of angel investors among AAA Summit 2018 attendees reflect a rapidly growing interest in angel investing and the startup ecosystem in the region”, said Dr Sivapalan Vivekarajah, president of MBAN .

“In-line with AAA’s goal to increase and encourage cross-border angel investing opportunities, we have created a platform for attendees to get premier access to some of the most successful angel investors in the world, and to gain insights into best practices that help navigate likely successes and potential failures," he added.

Other summit highlights include keynotes by esteemed international speakers such as Noni Purnomo of Blue Bird Indonesia named as 'Power Women In Asia in 2015' by Forbes and Thomas Tsao of Gobi Ventures China named as “China’s Top Venture Capitalists” in 2013, 2014 and 2015 by Forbes and others eminent personalities who will be discussing current issues and the way forward with angel investment in the region.

Women Angel Investors and NGOs are entitled for a 50% concession rate. For more information on the AAA Summit 2018, please visit www.aseanangel.com