PARTNER BUSINESS ANGELS EUROPE
Business Angels Europe (BAE) and BAN Flanders have been linked for almost 10 years. “As one of the ‘founding members’, BAN Flanders has always been an important part of our organization,” says Jan Debets, Head of Operations BAE.
For more than 20 years, BAN Flanders has been a great example of how to set up and run an angel network, how it has to keep innovating continuously to achieve quality matchmaking between business angel investors and entrepreneurs.
BAE primarily represents national business angel federations from countries with a large ecosystem like the UK, Germany, France. We work with them from a European context. We also have the “BAE Club” which includes a select group of ‘best performing’ networks. In total, the Club includes 19 networks from 13 countries.
“Reginald has always had a keen interest in seeing what is happening in other countries and how we can learn from it and has a leading role in rolling out new international initiatives.”
Within BAE and the Club, we are getting better at working together to connect files with angels from other angel networks. During the Covid period, the BAE Club started new processes including organizing e-pitches. We have managed to organize 6 e-pitches to date which has resulted in 2 cross-border investments between members of the BAE Club.
“BAN Flanders has acquired a unique position because they are part of the national networks within BAE, and also part of the BAE Club.”
PARTNER EUROQUITY
EuroQuity wants to connect innovative startups that are looking for extra growth capital with investors. Business angels are willing to invest in early-stage projects that often still require some development and research as well as scaling of the team and/or production. The cooperation with BAN Flanders allows us to help innovative startups with extra capital.
In addition, business angels not only provide capital but also share their network, experience and expertise – the WISE story; this is very important because startups usually don’t have an extensive network or an experienced team with all the skills.
EuroQuity and BAN Flanders will share their networks from now on; we have a continuous inflow of innovative projects, validated by us, that are looking for investors. Or projects for which co-investment is needed. On the ground, we see the complementarity, namely that BAN Flanders also provides an accompanying service package to entrepreneurs and investors to facilitate the investment process.
BAN Flanders’ collaboration and international approach is an important strengthening of the Belgian ecosystem, also in terms of knowledge exchange. All the experience and know-how that BAN Flanders has, is interesting for our community; to let our startups play at the top on an international level as well.
“The cooperation between EuroQuity – WE and BAN Flanders has existed for several years but has increased significantly over the past year. We see enormous opportunities and added value.”
ABOUT EUROQUITY
EuroQuity is an international and free digital matching platform for innovative startups and investors, founded in 2008 by BPI France and active in the Belgian market since 2015, through licensee WE (Wallonie Entreprendre). Every year, an average of about 80 Belgian startups announce their fundraising via the platform; accounting for an annual total amount of €90 million. Currently, the platform has 750 Belgian startup profiles and an online pitch session is organised every 6 weeks. In this way, we give about 70 innovative startups a year the opportunity to pitch to an international audience of investors.
PARTNER DOORWAY
Last May 2022, BAN Flanders and Doorway signed a partnership, leading the way to European Investments. Both parties were looking to enlarge their investment portfolios on European level. Doorway, is an online venture investing platform for professionals, functioning as an enabler to help qualified and corporate investors, to invest in carefully selected high-quality projects. For BAN Flanders, this partnership will allow its member business angels, to get access to the Doorway platform portfolio for free, thus opening the door for European-wide investment opportunities. For Doorway, the agreement is an opportunity to broaden their community of investors, to introduce and share the BAN Flanders projects within their platform, to increase fundraising and to bring Belgian business angels to their European counterparts. Founded at the end of 2019, Doorway today realized 27 deals within 24 companies, with an average investment of € 500,000 per deal. The average ticket per investor is €25.000.
“Why limit us to our own national borders when we can work, invest, create value together beyond geographical borders? Opening up to new international and impact investment horizons involves a cultural exchange that enriches, in all senses.”
“Invest with us in the most promising companies operating in the innovative ecosystem.”
ABOUT DOORWAY
Doorway is the gateway for qualified investors who want to be actors of the future, participating in an innovative, sustainable and inclusive real economy. Innovative for the businesses in which it invests. Sustainable because it favors companies that create value for stakeholders. Inclusive, because it is open to investors and founders eager to grow a participatory ecosystem. Doorway is positioned as the guide portal for those who want to invest consciously in the Venture Capital asset class, not speculate. Thanks to its unique model on the market, Doorway is one of the main Venture Capital operators in Italy, founded and supported by Business Angels, to build a portfolio of startup and scaleups, diversified by sector, nationality, stage of development and size of round. All facilitated by the technological platform authorized by Consob. The “Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa” (CONSOB) is the public authority responsible for regulating the Italian financial markets.
PARTNER OVO
Local entrepreneurship is an engine for greater opportunity. Entrepreneurs for Entrepreneurs – OVO for short – strengthens sustainable entrepreneurship in Africa. And seeks Belgian entrepreneurs, companies and investors who support these projects with expertise and resources.
At OVO, we firmly believe in equality, which results in a win-win situation. African companies and organizations write their own success story. At the same time, Belgian companies and investors broaden their outlook, creativity and commitment.
Each year, in our 4 target countries (Benin, Uganda, Rwanda and Senegal) OVO organizes one-week boostcamp sessions where African entrepreneurs receive coaching and sessions to optimise their business model and make it more sustainable. Topics include financial planning, sales and presentation skills.
Having access to a new network of business angels will allow OVO to spread its approach of identifying promising projects in Africa that are mature enough to grow into a healthy business.
OVO welcomes an intensive collaboration with BAN Flanders as it shares its network of Business Angels for the projects coached and approved by OVO. This is a great opportunity for the whole network to expand its horizons, both geographically and in terms of creating social impact. Long-time members of the BAN Flanders network are very welcome to join our missions to Africa and contribute with their years of experience.
This partnership will allow OVO to strengthen its actions, to find more expertise in terms of coaching, and to support projects that require co-investment.
The collaboration between OVO (Entrepreneurs for Entrepreneurs) and BAN Flanders will be reinforcing and groundbreaking in both directions: to BAN a broadening of their (investment) horizons and to OVO the 20-year track record of BAN Flanders in impactful investments.
Björn macauter, OVO MANAGER
ABOUT OVO
At OVO, we support sustainable entrepreneurship in Africa. We choose initiatives with a social and environmental impact.
We select, guide, finance and monitor African companies and organizations to help them achieve their goals. We monitor the quality of every step in this process. We work with an international network of partners and organizations that share the same objectives.
For each project, we look for Belgian entrepreneurs, companies and investors who make knowledge and/or resources available.