Empowering the Next Generation of Business Angels
We seek to build and empower the next generation of business angels to back our future technology champions, ensuring a flourishing connected and diverse investment and innovation ecosystem across Europe.
For a strong European angel investing community
Europe lags behind the United States in terms of angel investment and crowdfunding. Nevertheless, there has been a significant rise in the number of startups and entrepreneurial ventures across Europe lately. Cities are turning into startup hubs, accelerators, and incubators are popping up everywhere. Business angel networks are becoming increasingly popular – pooling funds allows angels to spread out the costs of expensive due diligence, and when active investors combine their expertise, they contribute to better guidance for the startups.
A strong European angel investing community, given the involvement of Business Angels in investing and coaching, will strengthen the innovation and investment ecosystems for startups and increase the high-quality deal flow for European strategic technologies such as Digital technologies and deep-tech innovation, Clean and resource efficient technologies, Biotechnologies.
However, Europe continues to struggle to find incentives to facilitate access to finance, to attract, and keep young entrepreneurs. In Europe, there are still large differences between countries, regions, and cities, and the ratio between investors and high-net-worth individuals is extremely low.
Discover the role of business angels in driving innovation and how you can make a difference through smart investments.
Explore the advantages of investing across borders and access a thriving European startup ecosystem.
ESIL stands at the crossroads of deep tech, the EIC, and the next generation of Business Angels.
ESIL is delivered by a consortium of highly experienced ecosystem players, deeply embedded in European investment and innovation ecosystems, composed of META Group, BAE and Bpifrance.
Experts
Local leaders
On the ground business angels and leaders able to guide and grow budding angel communities in their respective countries. Trained by ESIL, they’re key to sharing their knowledge and expertise in Europe’s widening regions.
Women task force
A dedicated task force set up to address the key challenges and opportunities of involving more women into the Business Angel ecosystem. The task force is currently led by a group of motivated and expert women investors.
Advisory council
Defining the guiding principles, strategies and actions that ESIL should take to address the need to widen the investment ecosystem across Europe and create a more gender and age diverse Business Angel community.
Focus of the project
Our research has enabled us to identify and focus on 6 countries in the European community.
All of these countries offer the potential to further strengthen their Business Angels investment capacity to invest in technology champions in their economy, enhancing their innovation ecosystems, whilst increasing their connections and cross-border investment partnerships across Europe.
Our actions in these countries will be supported through our cohort of experienced men and women Angel investors, acting as “Archangels”, working in partnership alongside key investment leaders in the target countries, designed to achieve maximum impact and long-term sustainability.
Their actions will include:
- Building skills and knowledge: providing aspiring and existing angels with the knowledge and skills they need to be effective lead investors through face to face workshops and online deep dive sessions.
- Building Syndication: Seasoned investors guide new and existing angels through the Syndication process from sourcing new deal flow through key European acceleration and innovation programmes to effectively closing deals.
- Mapping the ecosystem to help strengthen the infrastructure for angel investment investment to build.
- Exploring new co-investment funding potential to leverage public -private investment
Consult the country pages of the 6 identified countries for more information:
Our work will also focus on the following actions:
- Matchmaking: Exploring co-investment opportunities, helping angels share risks and amplify returns.
- Creating new standardised documents to streamline cross-border angel investment deals across Europe.
- Establishing new partnership agreements between the angel communities from the 6 target countries and angel groups in more developed parts of Europe.
- Learning Without Limits: Access to a new comprehensive online e-learning platform (MOOC) packed with resources for aspiring and experienced angels alike.