The National Angel Organization (NAO) has changed its name to the National Angel Capital Organization (NACO), the group announced on Monday.

The new name is intended to better fulfill the organization’s mandate as Canada’s voice of angel investors, by clarifying angels’ increasingly important role in capital markets. Angel investors are individuals who invest their own money in start-up companies, often providing business expertise that contributes to the success of young companies.

“This change reflects the recent development of angel investing into an entirely new class of capital in Canada – which is increasingly organized, formalized and effective,” said Dan Mothersill, president of the organization.

He added that the organization wants to raise awareness of the fact that angel investors in Canada invest twice as much as venture capitalists, and create added value by providing mentorship and connectivity to new companies.

“We want these facts better known as we make our case for the further development of Canada’s angel investor community,” Mothersill said.

The change comes at a time when credit crunch concerns have start-up businesses concerned that both venture capital and angel investments are becoming more difficult to obtain.

The National Angel Capital Organization is hosting its first co-investment summit in Toronto on Nov. 19, to present potential investment opportunities to groups and networks of angels around the world.

IE