Hassan Haider, Chief Executive Officer of Tenmou, Bahrain’s First Business Angels visited the Silicon Valley in the United States of America. During the trade mission, the first for Bahrain’s Business Angels, Haider visited the heart of the investment community and the venture capital of the US, Silicon Valley, to learn and develop ties between the two entrepreneurial communities.
As part of his visit he was invited to be one of the panellists representing the Middle East at the Angel Capital Association Summit held at San Francisco. The Summit, the largest gathering of angel investors and angel groups in the world, saw Haider speak to over 650 angel investors on Angel Investing as it pertains to the region.
Haider delivered a lecture on the state of Angel Investing and the Angel Investing universe in the Middle East and North Africa region (MENA) at Stanford University, California.
“To be able to learn first-hand about business angel networks in the United States, will ensure that Tenmou’s current and prospective entrepreneurs receive the best experience possible. We, at Tenmou are committed to looking for new experiences to broaden our vision and tactics in helping our entrepreneurs,” Haider, said.
“Developing ties between the entrepreneurial communities abroad and highlighting Tenmou’s innovative entrepreneurs to an international audience are in keeping with Tenmou’s vision. Such connections will not only assist our start-ups, but will benefit by gaining experience and knowledge sharing from Business Angel groups around the world, and the US is certainly a good starting point.”
Alongside Haider, Bahrain’s Economic Development Board’s US Country Manager, Nathan Regan, took part in a number of key business opportunities for Tenmou. During the trade mission, Tenmou toured two of the largest growth houses in California’s Silicon Valley, Plug&Play Solutions and NEST GSV. Their campuses offer young entrepreneurs space and mentoring to help bring new ideas and technology to the market. In addition to these large growth houses, Haider met with TIE, Fenox, Angel List, Bandwith Capital and several other groups, with whom discussions were initiated for the creation of US-Bahrain partnerships and exchanges.
Launched in 2011, Tenmou, aims to support entrepreneurs with valuable business assistance, including; financial investment, mentorship, advice and guidance. Tenmou recognizes that for many entrepreneurs, mentorship programmes can be as valuable as financial investments. Each project receives practical advice and training from the company’s board members, who bring with them a wealth of business experience. These training workshops expose the entrepreneurs to real business situations and are conducted in the form of workshops, on a regular basis.
Established with a start-up capital of BD1 million (US$2.7 million),Tenmou invests an average of BD20,000 (US$53,000) for a stake of on average 20% in each project that meets its criteria, and will provide a three-month mentorship period, including support services, at no cost to the entrepreneurs.