Today, the Global Innovation through Science and Technology initiative (GIST) and the Angel Capital Association formally announced their new partnership. The partnership,  announced by ACA Chief Executive Officer, Patrick Gouhin, and Department Of State’s Deputy Assistant Secretary, Dr. Jonathan Margolis, at ACA’s Virtual Summit of Angel Investing, brings two powerhouses in entrepreneurial ecosystem building together to support S&T startup innovation across the globe. 

The partnership will bring ACA’s membership of angel investors and GIST’s entrepreneurs from over 130 countries together to  “expand opportunities, increase market access, grow foreign investment opportunities, and foster joint ventures,” as stated by the Deputy Assistant Secretary.

Department Of State’s Deputy Assistant Secretary​, Dr. Jonathan Margolis

With more than 14,000 members and 250 investor groups in the United States, the ACA will collaborate with GIST on various joint-ventures such as, early-stage investor trainings, startup trainings, and pitch competitions to ultimately bolster a more resourceful entrepreneurial ecosystem. 

The GIST initiative and the ACA have a mutual interest in helping innovators successfully build and scale their startup ventures. GIST empowers young innovators through networking, skill-building, mentoring and access to financing to develop startup solutions that address economic and development challenges. With the world’s largest pool of accredited investors, ACA has played a significant role in investor education and networking, making access to capital easier. 

ACA Chief Executive Officer, ​Patrick Gouhin

As ACA’s Patrick Gouhin pointed out in the announcement, “Now more than ever, we need a global call to action to increase access to capital for early-stage science and technology ventures that are solving the world’s biggest problems.” Current GIST partnerships represent a wide array of American corporate investment and ecosystem partners. This new partnership will answer that call to action by expanding opportunities for market access, growing foreign investment opportunities and will foster additional joint ventures.

GIST welcomes the Angel Capital Association to an esteemed group of GIST partners  and looks forward to the exciting achievements.