World Business Angels Investment Forum
2020 World Congress, Swissotel The Bosphorus Istanbul
Angel Investors Summit, 17 February 2020, Monday, Main Hall, 14.30 – 15.30

Panel1 

Global Leaders Action Plans 2020:
Developing angel investment as an asset class in the era of worldwide digital transformation

On 25 September 2015, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, along with a new set of goals that are collectively called Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Agenda, the culmination of many years of negotiation, was endorsed by all 193 member-nations of the UN General Assembly, both developed and developing – and it applies to all countries. Then-UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon noted that ‘the new agenda is a promise by leaders to all people everywhere. It is an agenda for people to end poverty in all of its forms – an agenda for the planet, our common home.’

At the 2010 G20 Summit in Seoul, the G20 leaders, recognizing financial inclusion as a pillar of the global development agenda, endorsed a concrete Financial Inclusion Action Plan. Financial inclusion was prominently included in the Leaders' Declaration and was highlighted as an important component of the Seoul Development Consensus and the financial sector reform agenda. The leaders announced the establishment of the Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI) to institutionalize and continue the work begun by the Financial Inclusion Experts Group (FIEG) in 2010. The GPFI, officially launched on 10 December 2010 in Seoul, is an inclusive platform for all G20 countries, interested non-G20 countries, and relevant stakeholders to carry forward the work on financial inclusion, including implementation of the G20 Financial Inclusion Action Plan, which was endorsed at the Seoul G20 Summit.

As an affiliated partner of the GPFI, the World Business Angels Investment Forum is hosting this roundtable as a global convergence of global leaders of early and post-early stage equity and capital markets. They will discuss in detail the G20’s agenda to increase financial inclusion worldwide and will share information about the 2020 action plans of global leaders of early and post-early stage equity and capital markets in their response to the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals and the GPFI platform.

The discussants, prominent global leaders in the world’s investment value chain, will explain how they plan to encourage collaboration between the ecosystems they lead. They will also explore ways to develop an international dialogue between public and private institutions that will empower early and post-early stage equity markets in the context of the worldwide digital transformation.

Moderator
Baybars Altuntas, Chairman, World Business Angels Investment Forum

Dr Abdul Malek  Al-Jabar, President, Middle East Business Angels Network (MBAN), UAE
Harry Tomi Davies, President, African Business Angels Network (ABAN), Nigeria
Israel Pons, Honorary President, Latin America and the Caribbean Angel Investors Federation (XCALA), Mexico
Paulo Andrez, President Emeritus European Business Angels Network (EBAN)
Tarek El Kady, Chairman, Mediterranean Business Angels Federation, Egypt

World Business Angels Investment Forum
2020 World Congress, Swissotel The Bosphorus Istanbul
Angel Investors Summit, 17 February 2020, Monday, Main Hall, 15.30 – 16.15

Panel 2

Global Leaders Action Plans 2020:
Developing innovative financial instruments to empower early stage equity markets in the era of worldwide digital transformation

On 25 September 2015, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, along with a new set of goals that are collectively called Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Agenda, the culmination of many years of negotiation, was endorsed by all 193 member-nations of the UN General Assembly, both developed and developing – and it applies to all countries. Then-UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon noted that ‘the new agenda is a promise by leaders to all people everywhere. It is an agenda for people to end poverty in all of its forms – an agenda for the planet, our common home.’

At the 2010 G20 Summit in Seoul, the G20 leaders, recognizing financial inclusion as a pillar of the global development agenda, endorsed a concrete Financial Inclusion Action Plan. Financial inclusion was prominently included in the Leaders' Declaration and was highlighted as an important component of the Seoul Development Consensus and the financial sector reform agenda. The leaders announced the establishment of the Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI) to institutionalize and continue the work begun by the Financial Inclusion Experts Group (FIEG) in 2010. The GPFI, officially launched on 10 December 2010 in Seoul, is an inclusive platform for all G20 countries, interested non-G20 countries, and relevant stakeholders to carry forward the work on financial inclusion, including implementation of the G20 Financial Inclusion Action Plan, which was endorsed at the Seoul G20 Summit.

As an affiliated partner of the GPFI, the World Business Angels Investment Forum is hosting this roundtable as a global convergence of global leaders of early and post-early stage equity and capital markets. They will discuss in detail the G20’s agenda to increase financial inclusion worldwide and will share information about the 2020 action plans of global leaders of early and post-early stage equity and capital markets in their response to the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals and the GPFI platform.

The discussants, prominent global leaders in the world’s investment value chain, will explain how they plan to encourage collaboration between the ecosystems they lead. They will also explore ways to develop an international dialogue between public and private institutions that will empower early and post-early stage equity markets in the context of the worldwide digital transformation.

Moderator
Israel Pons, Honorary President, Latin America and the Caribbean Angel Investors Federation (XCALA), Mexico

Dr Hashim Hussein, Head of United Nations Industrial Development Organization - Investment and Technology Promotion Office (UNIDO-ITPO)
Prof Inderjit Singh, President, World Entrepreneurship Forum (WENF), Singapore
Itai Manyere, World President, Junior Chamber International (JCI), USA
Juan Torrents, President of the Free & Special Economic Zones Federation (FEMOZA) , Switzerland
Marie-Christine  Oghly, World President, World Association of Women Entrepreneurs (FCEM), France
Ziad Alexandre Hayek , President, World Association of PPP Units & Professionals (WAPPP), Switzerland

World Business Angels Investment Forum
2020 World Congress, Swissotel The Bosphorus Istanbul
Angel Investors Summit, 17 February 2020, Monday, Main Hall, 16.15 – 17.00

Panel 3

Developing a global dialogue between startup and FDI ecosystems to increase cross-border investment

In 2018, the estimated global Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flows were $1.3 trillion, which is a 13% decline compared to the previous year. This is the third consecutive drop in FDI flows and the lowest level since the 2008 global financial crisis. The FDI slide is concentrated mainly in developed economies, which experienced a staggering 40% decline in FDI inflows.

By contrast, new types of investment – angel investment, venture capital (VC), corporate venture capital (CVC), sovereign wealth funds (SWF), family offices, and impact investments – offer new opportunities for countries to boost their development. VC and CVC investments in new companies with high growth potential are at record high levels, despite negative global FDI trends. An analysis of global venture funding by KPMG reveals a six-year growth in VC investments, reaching $254 billion in 2018. Additionally, CVC investments reached an all-time high, with corporations participating in 20% of all VC deals in 2018.

The digital revolution has had a profound impact on the overall global economy. Recent statistics show that half of the world’s population is online, and the internet industry has made a significant contribution to countries’ GDP. The agenda of the G20 leaders reveals that financial technologies will play a key role in increasing financial inclusion globally. The numbers confirm this. Worldwide investments in fintech jumped to $111.8 billion in 2018, a staggering 120% over the 2017 figure of $50.8 billion.

Early and post-early stage equity markets are developing rapidly as well. In 2018, 320,000 angel investors invested 9.8 billion EUR in Europe, and in the U.S., 340,000 angel investors invested $27 billion. The size of the global investment in early-stage businesses in 2018 reached $60 billion, up 20% from $50 billion in 2017.

These figures show that, worldwide, we have an increasing startup economy and a decreasing FDI economy. The implications of negative FDI trends are a significant concern for policymakers, as FDI is an essential element in a country’s efforts to stimulate and enhance economic development. It is particularly significant for the developing world and transition economies, owing to their need for capital to stimulate industrialization.

This panel will seek practical ways to develop a dialogue between FDI ecosystems and startup ecosystems to empower local economies through co-investment and to develop innovative financial policies that will enhance the capabilities of FDI and startup investors. It will also explore ways to encourage the FDI ecosystem to engage with the startup economy and ways to create a global awareness about the benefits of collaboration between the world’s FDI economies and startup economies.

Moderator
Skalar Boštjan, CEO, WAIPA - World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies, Switzerland

Bence Katona, CEO of Hiventures, Hungary
Carsten Borring, Associate Vice President Listings EMEA and Head of Listings & Capital Markets, NASDAQ Copenhagen, Denmark
Jacoppo  Dettoni, Deputy Editor, fDi Magazine - Financial Times, UK
Dr Jarmo  T. Kotilaine, Chief of Planning and Monitoring, Bahrain’s Labour Fund, Bahrain
Sergio  Vella, Director of Financing and Investor Relations, ICEX-Invest in Spain, Spain