New West Virginia Angel Investment Fund to Help Boost Local Business GrowthNovember 2013 |
A newly organized West Virginia angel investment fund, called West Virginia Growth Investment (WVGI), will pool the capital resources and the business connections of accredited investors in and around the state of West Virginia to help support the development of small businesses in Appalachia. West Virginia Governor Earl Ray Tomblin and ARC Federal Co-Chair Earl F. Gohl announced the launch of the new fund on November 6 at a press conference held during ARC's 2013 fall conference, focusing on entrepreneurship, in Charleston, West Virginia.
WVGI was one of five applicants selected by ARC in September 2012 to receive funding and technical assistance to create new angel investment funds that will invest in small businesses in the Appalachian Region.
The announcement of WVGI follows the creation of Appalachian Community Capital, a new central bank for development lenders that will increase the availability of capital to small businesses in the 13 Appalachian states. Launched in June 2013, Appalachian Community Capital is expected to leverage $233 million in private bank capital and help create 2,200 jobs.
The Center for Venture Research estimates that U.S. angel investors provided $20.1 billion in approximately 61,900 deals in 2010. WVGI will invest in growth-oriented start-up, early-mid-stage, and well-established late-stage private companies.
More information on the fund is available on the West Virginia Growth Investment Web site.