NEWS RELEASE

WBAF 2023 SOUTH AFRICA – I am very pleased to announce that I have completed my registration process for the WBAF 2023 WORLD CONGRESS OF ANGEL INVESTORS, the world’s largest forum of early and post-early stage equity and capital markets organised by the World Business Angels Investment Forum (WBAF) – an affiliated partner of the G20 Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI). It will take place at Durban ICC - International Convention Center of South Africa, on 21 and 22 November.

To reflect its commitment to the G20–GPFI Action Plan, the World Business Angels Investment Forum (WBAF) prepared the WBAF 2023 agenda to focus on financial inclusion, digital transformation, and connecting startups with angel investors. The sessions will deal with ways to democratise access to finance from startup to scale-up to exit. LPs, startups, scale-ups, and angel investors will be able to connect at the World Excellence Awards, an event designed to salute those who stand out in imagining, discussing, and shaping the future of an entrepreneurial world.

The Congress will host angel investors, private equity fund managers, business angel networks, wealth management institutions, executives of stock exchanges, banks, science and technoparks, incubation and acceleration centers, startups, entrepreneurs, SMEs, global thought leaders, and policymakers from more than 100 countries.

For the first time ever, the 2023 World Congress will host a continental congress, The Africa Congress of Angel Investors, as part of its official agenda.

The Congress will also host an International Summit with four global roundtables as part of its agenda. These include a Global Startup Roundtable; a Global Women Leaders Roundtable; a Science, Technology and Innovation Roundtable; and an Ethical Governance Roundtable.

100 selected startups will pitch on the Global Fundraising Stage GFRS after an investment readiness workshop and a one-on-one mentoring session. Startups can apply to pitch on the @Global Fundraising Stage, which is supported by the WBAF Angel Investment Fund. The link for applications: www.wbaf2023.org/GFRS2023

The Grand Assembly 2023 will take place on 20 November, just before the Congress starts. It will be closed to the public. The Assembly is open to Senior Associates, High Commissioners, Senior Senators, Senators and International Partners. WBAF has 1,684 Senior Associates, High Commissioners, Sn Senators, Senators, and International Partners from 132 countries. If you want to join the Grand Assembly as a Senator or an International Partner, you can apply here: www.wbaforum.org/represent

The ultimate goal of all the Congress keynotes, panel discussions, presentations, and workshops will be to agree on a common roadmap for entrepreneurs, startups, and SMEs that will help them thrive in this post-pandemic period.

The official website of the Congress is now live for early bird registrations. You can join me now by registering here: www.wbaf2023.org