New fund to invest $10M in idea-stage startups
In order to bridge the funding gap between the early stages of a startup, a new fund lead by Prince Kojo Onioni Zalani from Nigeria is launching in the Arab region to focus exclusively on idea-stage startups. With a ticket size of 5 to 10 million dollars (depending on the brightness of the idea), Zalani aims to improve access to funding for entrepreneurs who have just a sketch on a napkin and expectations of greatness, and to highlight bright ideas coming out of the region.
In a Skype call with Wamda, Zalani explained that entrepreneurs don’t need to have an existing product to submit; they should only have a great idea that can be applied. He then concluded our brief interview with few tips on what entrepreneurs should do to qualify for his fund. His tips are summarized as follow:
1- Entrepreneurs must win at least three awards with the word ‘prestigious’ in them. [Tweet this]
2- Entrepreneurs should be able to describe their idea in one sentence that includes the words ‘Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, big data, disrupt and scaling’. [Tweet this]
3- Entrepreneurs must attend at least 12 conferences each year. [Tweet this]
4- Entrepreneurs should copy paste random quotes they Googled to their LinkedIn page so people think they are influencers, movers and shakers in their industries. [Tweet this]
5- Failing college classes and calling themselves dropouts is a plus. [Tweet this]
If you’re interested in applying, make sure you submit your idea here. The fund is sector agnostic and will launch today on April 1st, which happens to be April Fools’ Day.
