The successful London-based company, SwiftShift, has invented a software solution that allows companies to quickly fill short notice shifts using their own staff through SMS, email, and mobile technology.
The announcement, which is subject to due diligence, follows a reception for the IAN investor group at Number 10 on Tuesday attended by the Prime Minister, Vince Cable, Matthew Hancock and Oliver Letwin.
In November the Prime Minister met the IAN Network in India where they agreed to set up a UK base to invest in British start-ups.
Minister for Government Policy Oliver Letwin said: “The UK consistently ranks in the top three places for global investors due, in part, to the dynamism and innovation of our start-up companies.
“There is a wealth of British talent and potential that needs the right investment and bringing the Indian Angel Network to this country forms part of our efforts to ease access to finance for start ups and attract foreign capital.
“I am thrilled that they are set to make their first investment and hope that this will be the first of many.”
Indian firms are now the 5th largest investors in the UK and more than 50% of Indian investment into Europe goes to the UK.
Today’s announcement was facilitated by UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) as part of its strategy to target investment from high-growth markets such as India and China.
The Network has already invested in start-ups in countries including the USA, Canada, France, Hong Kong, Singapore, Sri Lanka and India.
IAN has a portfolio of 100 plus companies across multiple sectors like IT, Mobile, Healthcare and Education, Gaming, Hospitality, Semiconductor, and social media, and has made several successful exits, the best one returning 22 times capital.
Saurabh Srivastava, co-founder of IAN, who is leading the initiative said: “The UK is home to some of the best innovation and R&D in the world. IAN, is a rare and possibly the only angel group in the world that has global membership and invests globally, with nimble yet robust, standardised, transparent processes that operate across geographies.
“We are thankful to the UK government for their support and are excited about supporting innovative UK startups, going global, fostering UK India collaboration in the early stage arena and driving economic growth in the region.
“We are delighted to have decided on our first UK investment and we believe that SwiftShift’s product will be sold around the world.”
