During EAIS24, we had the pleasure of presenting the panel on biotech investment trends, powered by Bionanopolys. Presented speakers were: Märt-Erik Martens, Founder of Gelatex; Stef Denayer, Stakeholder Relations Manager at Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant; Nicolas Rouhana, EBAN Board Member and CEO of IM Funding Capital and acting as panel moderator, Viktorija Trimbel – Managing Director of Coinvest. This panel’s discussion focused on the challenges faced by start-ups in this field and provided key insights into possible solutions and trends that might shape the industry.
One core theme that stood out was: the “valley of death” in biotech, where funding generally falls short in the transitional period between scaling a pilot project up to full industrial production. This gap results in many promising biotech startups being unable to find the necessary capital for large-scale growth. Shared pilot facilities and risk-sharing mechanisms were put forward as ways to meet that challenge. Stef Denayer highlighted how there are a huge number of very well-resourced facilities of this sort in Europe already and instead of building more we need to encourage startups and innovators to use the resources available.
The expert panel also discussed new finance models, like blended finance, which mix grants and venture capital with angel investments to spread risk and encourage investments. Despite the financial and logistical challenges, biotech is resilient and forward-looking. The panellists noted that health and life sciences innovations joined by growing interest in bio-based technologies, are a very attractive investment option with substantial long-term returns. To investors for whom impactful, long-term ventures are the focus, considerable value will be found in this sector since it can solve global health and sustainability needs.
The panel also discussed the impact of geographical disparities within Europe. While Western Europe is able to maintain steady growth thanks to its developed biotech infrastructure, Eastern Europe, despite having plenty of biomass, remains under-resourced. This limits regional scaling opportunities in biotech and underlines the need for more collaboration across borders to help support startup development across the region.
In conclusion, the session underlined that both public support and private investment is needed in scaling up biotech companies. In addition, incentives are needed to avoid developing similar resources for every region independently, but instead to make use of those already available across Europe. For Europe’s biotech industry to fully utilize the strengths it has at this moment in time and create a pathway to impactful growth, it has to overcome the challenges faced in investment, infrastructure, and regulation.
EAIS24 was privileged to feature the “Women in Deep Tech and Investment” panel powered by Women TechEU. Prominent speakers such as: Brigitte Baumann, Founder of Efino, Clare McGee, Founder of Awaken Hub & Awaken Angels and partner at Women TechEU, Svenja Lassen, Country Managing Director at Gateway Ventures and moderator Christine Bjärkby, Founder and Board Member at SweBAN, provided actionable insights and solutions for creating a more diversified presence of women in deeptech and angel investing.
Significant points were brought forward during the session, a core one being the large disparity in venture funding allocated to women entrepreneurs, with women-led startups receiving only 3% of total venture capital. This underinvestment is compounded by the scarcity of women in leadership roles within deep tech, a field that already faces challenges due to its high-risk and heavily innovation based infrastructure. Panellists also discussed how inherent biases paired with a tendency for women to avoid high risk ventures, often play an additional role in limiting access to women in both funding and career growth opportunities within the sector.
The conversation continued to explore how women founders’ approach to investment decisions sometimes differs from traditional methods, putting sustainability and social impact first before short term gains. This approach would theoretically align investment portfolios with long term societal benefits and promote long term stability. Brigitte Baumann noted that this mindset would also present as a vital opportunity to bolster support for women founded businesses and position women as key contributors to sustainable innovation.
Women TechEU tackles this issue head on by offering grant funding and mentorship specifically for women-led tech ventures. Clare McGee happily shared that the response towards the program has been very positive, with over 800 applications submitted in its initial two rounds alone. The initiative provides 75k of grant free funding plus a 6 month acceleration programme to 160 women led deep tech startups. You can learn more about it here: https://womentecheurope.eu/about/
Beyond financing, the panel emphasized on the importance of education, visibility, and networking in fostering gender diversity. Targeted programs that equip women with entrepreneurial and investment skills as well as exposure to angel networks are crucial. Furthermore, the availability of role models and mentors within the sector is critical as successful examples encourage more women to envision and pursue careers in the field.
The panel concluded by affirming that for deep tech to thrive as a sustainable and impactful industry it needs to be mindful of the current gender gap issue and open its doors for diverse perspectives along with new inclusive support structures. This will allow the industry to move closer towards a balanced and dynamic future.
