EBAN at the Startup and Scaleup Forum in Brussels
On the 25th of April, EBAN Director General Jacopo Losso joined a high-level meeting hosted by Commissioner Ekaterina Zaharieva to shape the EU’s evolving Startup and Scaleup Strategy.
EBAN emphasized the urgent need to scale up angel investing across Europe and supports new EU instruments and incentives aimed at empowering early-stage investors. We also supported the 28th Regime — a harmonised legal framework for startups and investors — and discussed how national development banks can help deliver EU-level support on the ground.
As an active participant in these strategic conversations, EBAN is proud to help shape the tools and policies driving Europe’s innovation future.
More updates to come on the EU Startup Visa, streamlined IP processes, and other key initiatives.
Powering Innovation and Policy for Europe’s Startup Ecosystem at EIC Summit 2025
At the heart of Europe´s innovation agenda
EBAN joined leading policymakers and ecosystem builders at the 2025 EIC Summit in Brussels to strengthen the role of angel investment in Europe’s innovation agenda. Represented by Director General Jacopo Losso, alongside Project Managers Xenia Martin and Alessandro Craglia from the EBAN team, we took part in key sessions and stakeholder meetings to advocate for early-stage investment and cross-border collaboration.
Calls for Action
In a plenary session, Lisbon Mayor Carlos Moedas called on local leaders to leverage EU resources, while former Prime Minister Enrico Letta stressed the need to enable the free movement of knowledge and scale innovation beyond national silos. Commissioner Ekaterina Zaharieva echoed this, underlining the importance of reducing challenges faced by EU innovation and spotlighting the upcoming European Startup and Scaleup Strategy.
Highlighting Angel Involvement in Deeptech
At the Summit, speakers highlighted the value of angel investors in deeptech—emphasizing how their experience and networks can complement institutional investors and provide startups with critical market and technology insights. Their involvement also benefits the other co-investors, particularly those VCs that lack tech and market know-how relevant in deeptech industries.
Promoting Women-Led Innovation
On the ground, EBAN engaged with partners to explore strategic collaborations and our Project Manager Alessandro Craglia promoted the Women TechEU project, which will award €75,000 grants to 40 women-led deeptech startups this June.
From policymaking to deal flow, EBAN continues to ensure that Europe’s innovation economy is supported by a strong, connected angel investment network.
€31.5 Million from Finnish Angel Investors: Fewer Startups Receiving Funding, but with Larger Ticket Sizes
The Finnish Business Angels Network (FiBAN) has published its investment statistics for 2024.
According to the latest figures, Finnish business angels invested a total of €31.5 million in Finnish startup companies in 2024, bringing angel investments back from 2022’s dip. However, the number of funded startups dropped significantly: only 84 startups received funding in 2024, compared to 173 in 2023.
While the trend of angel investing has been declining across Europe, Finnish angel investing continues strong. Members of FiBAN, the largest angel investor network in Europe, have invested nearly half a billion euros into over 2,000 startups during its 15-year history.
Larger Funding Rounds for a Select Few
In Finland, the early-stage investment climate has been challenged by general market uncertainty, technological disruption, and a rise in bankruptcies. According to Statistics Finland, there were 3,475 bankruptcies in 2024, a roughly 5% increase from the previous year.
This is also reflected in FiBAN’s data as a decrease in follow-on rounds, but at the same time, the importance of promising new startups is emphasized. Startups that succeeded in securing angel funding received significantly larger investments than in previous years.
“New companies are emerging especially in the application of artificial intelligence as well as in the defense and dual-use sectors. Angels are drawn to new technologies and industries. For example, in the defense and dual-use sector, we witnessed immense demand for funding — we received over 120 applications from defense-related startups alone in 2024. This trend appears to be accelerating in 2025,” says Tiina Laisi-Puheloinen, CEO of FiBAN.
Syndicated Investments Enable Larger Rounds and Risk Diversification
With an individual angel in Finland typically investing in an average of 1.7 startups per year, the significance of syndication has grown: the average size of funding rounds involving FiBAN members was €275,000.
“The trend of co-investing is particularly evident in these emerging sectors, such as defense and dual-use technology. Research-driven startups require larger capital injections. A great example is the €920,000 investment round in Dobbelgänger, a company developing decoi technology, which brought together VC firm Lifeline Ventures, Innovestor, and a large group of angel investors. “In 2024 alone, over 150 startups in the defence, dual-use, and security sectors applied for funding through FiBAN—compared to fewer than 10 such applications before 2023,” explains Tiina Laisi-Puheloinen, CEO of FiBAN.
FiBAN has significantly increased its collaboration with various investment firms, thereby expanding investment opportunities for its members.
“FiBAN has 600 members, and many want to diversify their startup investments across different categories — especially if their portfolio already contains dozens of startups. The Co-Investment Fund, established at FiBAN’s initiative, has further increased collaboration between different investor groups. For experienced angel investors, a natural next step is to establish their own fund and diversify their investments,” adds Laisi-Puheloinen.
140 Exits in 2024 – Silo.AI the Biggest Success Story
It typically takes 7–10 years for an exit to materialize. In 2024, the number of exits remained high at 140, despite a more cautious approach to new investments. Of these exits, 40% were due to bankruptcies.
The most notable angel exit of 2024 was the sale of AI company Silo.AI to AMD in the U.S. for €600 million. Silo.AI was recognized as FiBAN’s Exit of the Year 2024 at the annual Angel Gala.
“Silo.AI is a prime example of how the role of business angels in early-stage financing can enable significant growth for a company — and a strong return on capital invested with high risk,” says FiBAN CEO Tiina Laisi-Puheloinen.
Brussels, Belgium – 1st of April, 2025 – The European Business Angels Network (EBAN), Europe’s leading early-stage investor network, is proud to announce the launch of EBAN Sports, a new initiative aimed at fostering innovation and investment in the global sports technology sector. As part of EBAN’s ongoing commitment to supporting entrepreneurship and driving economic growth, EBAN Sports will serve as a dedicated platform to connect angel investors, startups, and industry leaders within the rapidly growing sports ecosystem.
The launch of EBAN Sports was officially announced at Galicia Sportech Congress 2025. The event provided the perfect setting to unveil this ambitious initiative, bringing together investors, entrepreneurs, and industry leaders from across the continent.
Jacopo Losso, EBAN’s Director General, expressed his enthusiasm for the initiative:
“Sports have always been a unifying force globally. With EBAN Sports, another vertical within EBAN, we aim to provide our investors with dedicated networks to foster investments and offer startups a dedicated space to fuel their growth.”
EBAN Sports is designed to capitalize on the immense opportunities within the sports industry, which has seen exponential growth in areas such as sports performance, fan engagement, venue management, and fitness. By leveraging EBAN’s extensive network of investors and partners across Europe and beyond, this initiative will provide investors with a dedicated space to connect, while offering startups access to funding and mentorship from experienced investors.
Audra Shallal, Co-Chair of EBAN Sports, stated:
“With EBAN Sports, we’re building a platform to empower startups and investors to shape the future of this fast-growing, complex, and dynamic sector.”
Juan Fuentes, Co-Chair of EBAN Sports, added:
“By connecting investors with visionary entrepreneurs, we aim to drive innovation in sports and create lasting value for both the industry and society.”
The EBAN Sports steering committee consists of nine distinguished members: Co-Chairs Audra Shallal and Juan Fuentes, along with Edgardo da Fonseca, Vesa Lehtinen, Daniel Kulig, Heikki Rotko, Nina Rautiainen, Rohn Malhotra, and Albert Colomer. Each member brings extensive experience as an investor—whether as a business angel or venture capitalist—as well as expertise in ecosystem building, startup mentoring, and/or the sports industry. Collectively, they represent a broad geographical reach across Europe, including Spain, France, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, Finland, and Poland
EBAN invites startups, investors, and industry stakeholders to join the network. For business angels and investors from EBAN member networks, or investors interested in sports. Eban Sports – EBAN
About EBAN
The European Business Angels Network (EBAN) is the pan-European representative for early-stage investors. With over 150 member organizations across more than 50 countries, EBAN supports the development of angel investing through advocacy, networking events, training programs, and research initiatives.
