Falcon Network's angel investors conclude investment in six promising start-ups

Falcon Network, a group of emerging markets-based angel investors, have today announced the successful conclusion of their inaugural round with the completion of six investments in high-growth and impact-focused start-up enterprises.

In total, the Network’s members invested over USD 450,000 in the following businesses:

• Aion Sigma, a Finland-based fintech platform with sizeable presence in Africa that provides financial inclusion and empowerment of individuals; 
• Caravan, a value-added aggregator of privately operated buses in UAE with the mission of helping employees find the best private bus for their work commute; 
• Saaya Health, a Tech company providing emotional/mental health solutions to organisations and corporations;
• Teacherly, a UK-based collaborative planning and peer to peer edtech platform with growing presence in the Middle East; 
• Virtual i, a DIFC based insurtech platform that provides fast, affordable and reliable risk engineering services to insurers and insured and brings visibility to insurance transactions; and
• WorkAround, provides a scalable data tagging and verification platform for artificial intelligence / machine learning applications, delivered by skilled displaced people.

Dr Sayd Farook, co-founder of the Falcon Network commented: “We are delighted with the success of our first round – with over 223 start-ups submitting funding applications from 46 different countries. Out of the 13 shortlisted companies, we are delighted that Aion Sigma, Caravan, Teacherly, Virtual i Technologies, Workaround and Saaya Health have secured investment. These exciting businesses will not only benefit from the financial capital, but also strategic expertise which our angels will provide in order to accelerate their growth potential.”

Jari Ala-Ruona, co-founder and CEO of Aion Sigma commented: ‘We welcome Falcon Network as Aion Sigma's global impact investor to support us in enabling equal opportunity to everyone.”

Syed Karim, founder and CEO of Caravan commented: “Caravan was one of the few high growth startups selected by Falcon Network for investment. We have received high-quality, invaluable mentorship and advice from the experienced and vetted angels of the network. We are ambitious and confident about the future of Caravan because we have the guidance and backing of Falcon Network and would like to thank them for their support.”

Sarmad Ahmed, co-founder of Saaya Health commented: "The Falcon Network possess the rare trifecta of what entrepreneurs like me are looking for. They are founder friendly, socially conscious,  very well networked and therefore bring a professionalism to our setup.”

Atif Mahmood, CEO and Founder of Teacherly commented “I firmly believe the way teachers will work in the future and students will learn will change and we are building something that will be at the forefront. It's a privilege to have this great opportunity and the ability to get insights into the market opportunity and strategic advice that is actionable. The investors and mentors involved want to add value and want to help which makes it easier to ask for help.”

Veysel Sinan Geylani, CEO and Founder of Virtual I Technologies commented: “Falcon Network is a group of dedicated professionals, who are channeling much-needed investment towards early stage and impact-oriented businesses. We are honored to have them as investors. We believe that, thanks to their expertise and valued networks, we will create more value to the next generation insurance value chain.”

Wafaa Arbash, CEO and co-founder of WorkAround commented: “We are grateful to have the Falcon Network as an investor to support us in achieving our vision. We envision a world where talent knows no boundaries and opportunity doesn't ask for status and work is rewarded with fair pay.”

Launched at the sidelines of the Global Islamic Economy Summit, an international forum held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the Falcon Network includes senior executives working in both the public and private sector across the Middle East and wider Asia. Current members of the Falcon Network have committed to investing a minimum of USD 50,000 by October 2020. 

The next round of funding applications will open in November 2019 for investment by 2020. 

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About The Falcon Network
The Falcon Network is a group of Angel Investors focused on investing in impact driven entrepreneurs from high growth markets. With more than 45 investors, the Network is truly global. Our investors have significant experience investing in and working with impact driven startups -- providing not only capital but also vital strategic advice.
www.falconnetwork.org  | @_falconnetwork 
For further details please contact: cindy@falconnetwork.org  

© Press Release 2019