Malabar Angel Network

Check fit first

• MAN prefers Kerala-based startups with a technology edge and early revenue. It says it is sector-agnostic.
• It looks for disruptive innovation that can scale in large markets, not incremental improvements.

How to apply

• Email your pitch deck to the MAN secretariat at the address on its contact page.
• If details are missing, the secretariat shares a MAN template. Fill it in and send an updated deck.
• Expect an initial call with a sector special interest group, which scores your startup, before any full pitch session.

What to expect

• A full pitch session is in front of the whole membership, followed by feedback and possibly due diligence.
• MAN calls its timeline tentative, so plan for a process that runs for months rather than weeks.
• Investors decide independently, so be ready to answer questions from several members.

Malabar Angel Network, known as MAN, is an angel investment group based in Kannur, Kerala. It describes itself as a startup discovery and angel investment facilitation platform, and it operates as a business division of MiZone, a Section 8 non-profit company. MAN and MiZone were both established in October 2018 in response to the Kerala Startup Mission initiative to boost angel investment across the state, and both are backed by the Kerala Startup Mission.

Who the members are

MAN says its members are experienced corporate management professionals, owners of small and medium enterprises, academicians and high-net-worth individuals, in Kerala and abroad. Its members page lists founders, IT professionals, management consultants, chartered accountants, professors and doctors. The network says it has 100 members, although its homepage counter shows a different figure, so treat the count as approximate. Members invest directly in companies and receive share certificates or debentures in their own names, and each investor makes an independent decision.

What it looks for

MAN says it backs scalable startups that have market validation and are in the early revenue stage. It is sector-agnostic and says it prefers technology-enabled startups that are disruptively innovative rather than incrementally so, able to serve large markets in India and globally, and led by an ambitious team. Preference goes to startups based in Kerala that can create local employment and address regional problems at scale. Sectors it names from past investments include agritech, edtech, electronic hardware, urban farming and drone analytics. It also co-invests with other angel networks and venture funds, and names Indian Angel Network among them.

How to pitch

MAN publishes a step by step route. A startup emails its pitch deck to the MAN secretariat. The secretariat does a preliminary review and may ask for missing details using a MAN template. The startup is then assigned to a special interest group focused on a sector, whose members hold an initial call with the founder and score the startup against a framework. If the scores are favourable, the startup is invited to present at a full pitch session before the wider membership, with co-investors joining where possible. Feedback follows, and a selected startup goes through due diligence, which can include extra calls, customer visits and expert consultations. MAN then decides, negotiates terms and transfers funds. After investment, quarterly update calls monitor progress. MAN calls its timeline tentative and says it depends on the queue and on how much diligence is needed.

Beyond funding

MAN says it also offers mentoring through its members, networking events, webinars and training, and runs investor education sessions for people new to angel investing. It points startups to pre-incubation support at MiZone, which it describes as Kerala's first public-private incubation centre. The network also runs events with the Kerala Startup Mission and other partners, and publishes news coverage and a portfolio page on its site.

Contact

The office is at MiZone, Mangattuparamba, Kalliaseri, Kannur, Kerala, near Kannur University campus. Pitch decks and membership forms go to the secretariat inbox listed on the site. The site also has a careers page.