FLASHBACK POST:
They can’t wait on the banks, because they are not interested or simply do not understand. Some can do it with Credit Union Loans. Others sell their friends and family on the “ investability” of their ideas. Yet many, many more sit languishing with great ideas and no cash to grease their idea factories forward. I know I’m already preaching to the converted, when I say we need both an Angel and a Venture Capital Fund here in the Caribbean, the start of a VC culture here in the Caribbean that will invest in bankable technology companies.( And when I say bankable, I mean in other things outside of companies set up to resell cellphones of the existing mobile providers. God knows we have enough of them.)
I know of too many companies that could use a love injection of cash to get their ideas going further, faster. I’ve spoken to the entrepreneurs who’ve been in the industry 3, 5,7 years and have achieved certain level of success, but none that can rival those of their colleagues in USA and Europe. And that’s a pity, as we are dripping with worldclass talent and ideas here.
Maybe this is something that Digicel, Cable & Wireless, The Spanish Companies, resident billionaires, The Irish Expats can look at. Become Angel investors, set up a Venture Capital Fund that’s geared towards helping these many brilliant small, fledgling, talent packed technology companies become inpactful and profitable. It’s hard for many of these entrepreneurs to watch good money, strong money chase crappy ideas in the USA when simply half or a quarter of that funding could take Jamaica and the Caribbean’s software industry global, take the wicked web apps, mobile games, mobile services out of the underfunded companies and to the world.
Will the first batch of ANgel Investors and Venture Capitalists step forward!
Popularity: 1% [?]
Posted in 
Very insightful post Ingrid. I honestly think that we have another 10-15 yrs before venture capitalist start to infuse dollars in Caribbean start ups. The opportunity that we do have is that those who are ready can get in front of the “future” and start by funding our own ventures and continue to believe in ourselves. The Venture Capitalist will come.
Bless!!
Thanks Orlando. And wow…10-15 years I hope not, by then there will already be so many successful Caribbean internet startups they may not be even needed then. At least this is my hope and also with what I’ve seen so far. Pioneering colleagues of mine and many others who are now in the game, if even 50% of them stay with it and ride to the end, things will go well for the rise and growth of the Caribbean Web.
Orlando, I think you are way off but that is because you are thinking of VCs related to just Internet ventures.
With the current shift of dollars into renewable energy, the Caribbean is a natural place for VCs to look for solar oriented startups.
Also, when you look at the slowing pipelines of pharmaceutical companies, combined with the potential of the flora of the Caribbean – just look at the glaucoma treatment that came out of Jamaican research – there are biotech opportunities today.
Lastly, as India moves to higher-level opportunities, those calls still need to be outsourced. VCs and angel investors will put money into the Eservices and similar companies in Jamaica.
Granted, these VCs won’t be Sequoia Capital but they will still be investors.
p.s. I expect to have my VC firm up and running before 15 years for sure
David you’re right on the money!
Point taken David!!
[...] Source:WANTED: Angel and Venture Capitalists for Caribbean Tech Companies This entry was posted on Thursday, September 11th, 2008 at 11:09 pm and is filed under Technology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. [...]