Riding on its impressive growth, the company plans to expand its footprint in US & Europe

New Delhi, India – April 6, 2010: Druva Software, a leading provider of Continuous Data Protection and Disaster Recovery products, today announced that it has received a Series B round of funding from Sequoia Capital and the Indian Angel Network (IAN). Sequoia Capital and IAN will together invest up to $5mm in this round.

Druva is a profitable software product company that registered over 300% growth in the financial year that just ended and will use the capital for fueling its expansion in global markets.

Druva, best known for its two award winning products Druva inSync, for laptops in an enterprise environment and Druva Phoenix, for remote servers has already acquired customers in more than 20 countries in the last two years. Druva has existing sales offices in the US and Europe which will be expanded to match increasing demand from clients in those markets. Druva’s R&D team has extensive experience in data storage products, and has incorporated next generation data de-duplication technologies to provide optimized data protection across the enterprise.

“Our unique approach towards data de-duplication, both for corporate offices and remote users, allows better storage and provides significant savings in terms of time and bandwidth requirements. Our client base is increasing rapidly and this funding from Sequoia Capital and Indian Angel Network comes at an opportune time as we look at expanding our operations into other geographies,” said Jaspreet Singh, CEO and co-founder, Druva.

Shailendra Singh, Managing Director, Sequoia Capital said, “We are excited to back Druva, whose clients are selecting them over established vendors in countries they have never set foot in or sometimes without as much as a sales call. Their highly differentiated products and internet-based sales model, makes this a disruptive business opportunity. We arecommitting Sequoia’s global network of resources to help Druva scale quickly.. We hope that Druva’s success will inspire more entrepreneurs to build world-class software products in India.”

Rehan yar Khan of IAN adds "Druva signals the fact that world-class software product companies are starting to emerge from India. Our network will continue to closely support Druva to grow it into a world leader "
Rehan yar Khan (IAN) who was on the Board of Directors of Druva, has now been joined by Shailendra Singh (Sequoia Capital)

About Druva Founded in 2007, Druva Software is a leading provider of Continuous Data Protection and Disaster Recovery solutions. Since inception, Druva has released two award winning products - Druva inSync and Druva Phoenix. Druva is privately held and backed by Sequoia Capital, Indian Angel Network (IAN), and Accord International (HK).

For more information, read the full press release at: http://indianangelnetwork.com/Press-Release-Druva309.pdf or kindly visit: http://www.druva.com/

20% tax relief for Business Angels in Portugal

Portugal follows the example of EIS (Enterprise Investment Scheme) in the UK.

FNABA (National Federation of Business Angels Associations) considers that a positive step was taken in approving the 2010 State Budget, with the alteration of the 32nd article of the Statute of Tax Relief with the objective of giving to Portugal a tax policy that incites the investment in innovative and growth potential start-ups.

“It’s with great satisfaction that FNABA sees implemented a measure asked for since 2007. The choice of IAPMEI as certifying entity of Business Angels (Programa FINICIA), is the guarantee that this model will have rigour and will be followed in part by the Portuguese official entities, according to what always has been the wish of FNABA”, mentions Francisco Banha, president of FNABA.

FNABA wishes that the results of the impact of this measure will be published and that with that we will see, as expected, that the tax relief to Business Angels will become one of the measures with higher economic and social return to Portugal.

After the launch in the end of 2009 of the Business Angels Co-Investment Funds through Programa Compete (where 56 investment Vehicle Entities were approved representing a value over 40 million EUR of investment) and with this alteration of STR, Portugal puts itself in the forefront of the Business Angel investment at world level in innovative companies.

FNABA, through its associates throughout the country, will make everything so this initiative can be considered successful.

For more information, please contact:
FNABA - Federação Nacional de Associações de Business Angels
http://www.fnaba.org ; info@fnaba.org This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Tel: (+351) 21 441 64 60; Fax: (+351) 21 441 73 87

A group of New Zealand businesses and business development agencies is preparing to welcome leading American angel investor Bill Payne in New Zealand for six months to share his knowledge with Kiwi entrepreneurs, investors and universities.

Payne will be based at business growth centre The ICEHOUSE from February as the BNZ University of Auckland Business School Entrepreneur in Residence.

This activity is really been inspired by networks, which started with Tech Coast Angels San Diego adopting The ICE Angels back in 2003/4 and then moving to Bill at Kauffman Foundation and then wider – which really has seen the world of angel investing becoming so much flatter so to speak with excellent initiatives like the World Business Angels Association helping to web those networks together. Read the press release at http://www.theicehouse.co.nz/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=4EWF0klVjZo%3d&tabid=89

Business Angels members of the associations of FNABA, with 40 applications approved, will be responsible for 50 million euro of investment in start-ups in the next 3 years.

We already know the final numbers of Business Angels’ groups (Vehicle Entities) whose applications were accepted to make syndicated investments with the Co-Investment Fund made available by Programa COMPETE (Notice n.º 05/SAPFRI/2009).

From the 50 Vehicle Entities (VE) to be created, 80% will be leaded by Business Angels of the Associations member of FNABA. At regional level, the approvals were divided between Business Angels Club (Lisboa), Clube de Cascais, Invicta Angels (Porto), Centro Business Angels (Coimbra), Vima Angels (Guimarães), Alenbiz (Évora), Associação de BA da Covilhã and Associação de BA de Santarém, with 10, 9, 8, 5, 4, 2,1 and 1 VE respectively.

The investment amount supported by QREN in the scope of FNABA is 20 million euro, to which we add 10 million by the 200 Business Angels that are associated in the mentioned VE. To this amount we will add the investments to be made by the respective entrepreneurs and also the direct bank financing to the investee companies by the mentioned VE. In total, we estimate that until the end of 2012 it will be an investment of 50 million euro by Business Angels of the networks member of FNABA.

The initial provision of QREN to this Fund was 10 million euro, but was reviewed and raised to 25 million, answering thus to the high number of applications presented by Business Angels that, even so, drained the available fund.

Like the fund, we expect that the supportive Auxiliary Program to this Co-Investment Fund created by Caixa Capital, initially of 1.5 million euro, is reinforced allowing this society of venture capital to constitute as the most direct associated to the strong dynamics of Business Angels’ activity in Portugal, and consequently the higher investor in Venture Capital’ projects.

According to Francisco Banha, FNABA’s president “it was an important stimulus so that many Business Angels become active investors in the seed and start-up stages.

Francisco Banha adds that “this initiative is based in the public-private co-investment that extends itself from the Government and Business Angels to banks and Entrepreneurs, which puts in a lot of hands the success of this initiative. The applied model was already successfully tested in the Netherlands (Techno Partners), and also a similar co-investment program is under development in the UK (UK Innovation Investment Fund), which makes us believe that there is only one path possible - success!”

We expect that the first investments will be made in the second quarter of 2010 once that the next three months should be dedicated to formal issues associated to governance of the selected VE.

Despite the indubitable merit of this important initiative, implemented by the Portuguese government, namely through Programa Compete, IAPMEI and PME INVESTIMENTOS, in the dynamics of the Business Angels’ activity, Francisco Banha notes that “the international best practices recommend the adoption of tax mechanisms to attract more investors capable of stimulating the entrepreneurs in obtaining success in creating and expanding their businesses at a global level.” In that sense, he remembers that since 2 years ago FNABA has been raising awareness in the Portuguese government to the importance and economic evidence of a right tax policy incentive to the BA’s activity having, thus, the strong belief that the next State General Budget can complement a precise answer to the intents of all the Portuguese BA community.




For more information about the co-investment fund please contact FNABA:

FNABA - Federação Nacional de Associações de Business Angels
www.fnaba.org ; info@fnaba.org
Tel: (+351) 21 441 64 60 ; Fax: (+351) 21 441 73 87
Rua 7 de Junho de 1759, Nº 1
Lagoal - 2760-110 Caxias

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BUSINESS ANGELS
Business Angels are individual investors, normally businessmen or company directors that invest their capital, knowledge and experience in projects leaded by entrepreneurs that are beginning their activity. The investments aim to its valorisation at medium term, in the expectation of subsequent alienation to other parts interested.

FNABA - Federação Nacional de Associações de Business Angels (www.fnaba.org), currently comprises:
- Alenbiz - Associação de Business Angels do Alentejo
- Algarve Business Angels - Associação de Business Angels do Algarve
- Business Angels Club - Associação Portuguesa de Investidores em Start-Ups
- Centro Business Angels - CEC/CCIC
- Clube de Business Angels da Covilhã
- Clube de Business Angels de Santarém
- Clube de Cascais - Associação de Investidores de Cascais
- Invicta Angels - Associação de Business Angels do Porto
- OPEN Business Angels
- Vima Angels - Associação de Business Angels de Guimarães

FNABA - National Federation of Business Angels’ Associations is part of the Board of EBAN- European Business Angels Network ( www.eban.org) and of the Board of WBAA - World Business Angels Association ( www.wbaa.biz) from which was a charter member. 

The World Business Angels Association (WBAA), the European Business Angels Network (EBAN) and the Federação Nacional das Associações de Business Angels (FNABA) congratulate Portugal for the launching of the first Business Angels’ Co-Investment Fund, composed by a mixture of Government funds and private sector funds.

This new initiative will represent a global investment of 25 million euros in 60 new start ups.

The new Business Angels (BA) Co-Investment Fund brings Portugal to a new era of innovation and risk taking, enabling the development of several early stage projects.

This first Business Angels Co-Investment Fund, is the result of more than 2 years of close and cooperative work of FNABA (with continuous support of EBAN) with the Portuguese official entities, namely Ministério da Economia, through the Portuguese Secretary of State for Industry and Innovation, IAPMEI, PME Investimentos and COMPETE.

In 2007 Portugal organized the 7th EBAN Congress and hosted in Estoril the first meeting of World Business Angels Leaders, where it was decided to create the World Business Angels Association.

In 2009 Portugal launches a new and challenging Business Angels Co-Investment Program.

The scheme follows the experience of Techno Partner program in the Netherlands which hosted the 8th EBAN Congress one year after Portugal. Under the new scheme at least 3 business angels must create a new company with the purpose for risk investment. The Business Angels must bring to the new company 35% of the necessary funds, while COMPETE (managed by Portuguese Authorities) will make a 10 year (maximum) loan of 65% of the necessary funds.

Download the full press release at: http://www.eban.org/download/Pressrelease-new-ba-investment-fund-pt-01-09-09.pdf  

Indian Angel Network (IAN), India’s largest business angel network partnered with India’s leading business daily, Economic Times in a nationwide call to entrepreneurs. This was a very unique programme to bring investors and entrepreneurs together on the same platform.

An extremely ambitious project which had never been undertaken before, this 6 month programme went beyond everyone’s imagination : over 12,000 business plans were received in 32 days across multiple sectors : from around India and overseas. IAN had the daunting task of shortlisting them down to 1,000, while providing the balance 11,000, reasons for declining them. All these 1,000 entrepreneurs made 15 minutes pitch presentations of their  business plans to investors brought by IAN.

Of the 1000 mentored 250 were shortlisted for intense one to one mentoring where investors from around the world provided feedback and suggestions, providing strategic direction to their plan and helping improve their final presentation.

Above all, these entrepreneurs presented to an investor panel of Angels / VCs over 4 days with almost 50 investor tracks. Now the investment evaluation and diligence process for most of these finalists is underway.

This programme created a remarkable landmark as it had nearly 400 investors from around the world, engaged throughout the 6 months of this programme. The programme highlighted the fact that angel investing is a high risk – high gain asset class and the risks could be mitigated through the co investment model. To know more contact Padmaja Ruparel at padmaja@indianangelnetwork.com