The EBAN Gender Community is committed to promoting a gender-balanced angel investing ecosystem. We believe that gender equality is not only a social and ethical imperative, but also a strategic advantage for businesses and investors alike. Through our community, we aim to raise awareness about the importance of gender diversity in angel investing, share best practices, and create opportunities for women-led businesses and investors. Join us in our mission to build a more diverse, inclusive, and impactful angel investing community.
Be part of the change!
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Join EBAN and be part of a pan-European network of early-stage investors! With over 100 member organizations in 50+ countries, EBAN is a key player in the funding of SMEs, contributing to Europe’s growth and job creation. As a member, you’ll have access to exclusive resources and events, as well as the opportunity to join our active role in promoting gender equality in angel investing!
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Collaborating with the EBAN Gender Community is an excellent opportunity for individuals and organizations who believe in the importance of gender diversity in angel investing. By sharing your experience, you will be supporting us to have more ideas and insights to create a more inclusive and impactful angel investing ecosystem!
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Want to stay aware of the latest happenings in gender diversity and angel investing? Join the EBAN Gender Community mailing list! You’ll get access to our webinars, articles, and other cool resources to help you become a better investor or entrepreneur. Plus, you’ll be part of a supportive community of people who share your passion for gender equality!
Manifesto For a Gender Balanced Angel Investing Ecosystem by EBAN
Driving successful and responsible angel investing has been at the heart of EBAN’s identity since 1999, a mission we try to serve with every action. As a core value of our association, we promote diversity within the investment and entrepreneurship ecosystem. EBAN commits to triple the representation of women in our ecosystem by calling on the angel investment community to act in these three areas:
- Increasing the number of women angel investors in Europe by 3x
- Increasing the number of investments in Female Entrepreneurs
- Increasing the number of Women on Boards
With this Manifesto, EBAN is taking the lead in creating a gender inclusive European early-stage investment and innovation ecosystem, thus making it stronger, healthier, more prosperous, more equitable, and more sustainable.
We invite organisations within our network and beyond to join this crucial endeavour: Sign this Manifesto here to show your support and pledge to make considerable changes within your own organisation and community to the benefit of us all.
Read more here.
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Members
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PRODANOVIC Selma
Vice President
Austrian Angel Investors Association, AUSTRIANamed Startup-Grande-Dame by the media and elected “TOP 100: Europe’s most influential women in the startup & VC space” in 2022, Selma is an internationally celebrated keynote speaker and thought leader. She is passionate about empowering people and creating a better future. In the last 20 years, she considerably shaped the startup and angel investing ecosystem across Europe. Global media in over 40 countries (Forbes, Financial Times, Elle, Aljazeera, Bloomberg Adria) covered her expertise and activities.
She is the founder & Board Member of the global SDG platform 1MillionStartups and the Austrian Angel Investors Association. She advised and supported hundreds of startups, hosted the “EBAN- Masters of Angel Investing” interview series with the best business angels in Europe, authored two books, and is lecturing entrepreneurship at universities. Besides her passion for entrepreneurship, she is a fervent advocate for female empowerment and mental health. Above all, Selma is happily married to her first love and is the proud mother of two fantastic young adults.
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BJARKBY Christine
Stockholm Business Angels, SWEDEN
Christine Bjarkby is an investor and founder at Lincs focusing as Senior Advisor in Growth Capital at Lincs. Christine is in the board of EBAN since 2017. Christine has a broad experience from business development worldwide from large public global companies to small start-up companies. Christine has previously worked with investments as a representative of Invest Sweden, Entrepreneurship Network (Enterprise Network for Startup ICT) and Connect Sweden. Christine is and has been a board member of several startup companies and is herself a business angel. Christine is one of the founders of NordicBan and are now building up the Business Angel community in Sweden. Christine matches growth companies with capital and crucial skills and contacts. Her network consist more than 500 investors is spread all over Sweden both Business Angels as VC. Christine works actively to develop its investment network at regional, national and international levels.
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KOIAVA Guri
Axel – Georgian Business Angel Network, GEORGIA
Guri Koiava is an entrepreneur, early stage angel investor, startup mentor and public speaker with work history in organization development and management with nonprofit, government and private sectors.In 2005 Guri received the Presidential Scholarship for Best Sportsman of the Year and a black belt in martial arts. As well he was a board member for the Georgian scouts movement. Around this time Guri moved to the EU to pursue new opportunities. He volunteered at the Robert Schuman Foundation (Poland) and had the opportunity to manage civil rights and social action projects. In this time he received a study scholarship and moved to Latvia.
As a student Guri was one of the co-founders of NGO “Pagalms” for the Youth in Action Program (Erasmus+) in Riga. As a result he become a team lead, facilitator and co-organizer of numerous seminars, training sessions and gatherings representing Latvia and Georgia. He gained BBA & MBA degrees during his studies at Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences and Turiba University in Latvia.
In early 2013 Guri was accepted to work in the Georgian National Tourism Administration (Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia). During that time Guri and a team were determined to develop and promote Georgia as the loveliest travel destination worldwide. During his work at GNTA the number of international visitors increased by 21%, followed by a financial boom in the hotel and restaurant industry.
In different years, Guri was involved in co-organizing music festivals with the goal of increasing tourism in less traveled Georgian regions, for example the town of Anaklia or Poti. Projects: KaZantip Republic / Anaklia (2014), Georgian Electronic Music Festival – GEM Fest / Anaklia (2015,2016,2017) and Swing Festival / Poti (2021).
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DEMIRHISAR Huseyin R
BiD Capital Partners, THE NETHERLANDS
Founder & Partner of Gestluz Consultores, Matching Ventures and Absolute H.; Board Member of EBAN & Financial Institutions Partnerships Committee Chair; Founder & President of Invicta Angel – Porto Business Angels Association; Member of the Fiscal Council of <Payshop, SA; Founder & Vice-President of FNABA, the Portuguese Federation of Business Angels Associations, 2007-15; Executive Board Member of IFD – Instituição Financeira de Desenvolvimento, SA (now BPF), 2015-17; Former Board member of several SME´s and private associations, and Consultant of Strategy, Business and Competitiveness; Former Professor of Higher Education of Courses of Management, Sales and Finance; Master degree in Design for Sustainability, Postgraduate Degrees in Political Journalism and National Defense Auditor; Undergraduate Degree in Economics.
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RIBA Carlota
BANC Coordinator
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COLOMER Albert
Business Angels Network Catalunya, SPAIN
Albert has been at the forefront of the angel investor movement in Spain. In 2002, he co-founded and became executive director of the Business Angel Network Catalunya BANC, the first Spanish angel network, which he led. Additionally in 2006 he co-founded ESBAN, a private foundation to raising awareness and promoting angel investment and Business Angels Networks in Spain. Since 2003, Albert is member of the Board of EBAN. Albert has been appointed by the Parliament of Catalonia as member of the Advisory Board of the Catalan Institute of Finance, the public credit institution of the Government of Catalonia. During his career, Albert has gathered a profound knowledge of the entrepreneurship skills. As a consultant, advisor, coach or business angel, His experience in entrepreneurial field, over 25 years, has helped thousands start-ups and entrepreneurs to born and grow. He is co-founder (1986) and executive director of CPAC (Fundació Privada per a la Promoció de l’Autoocupació de Catalunya), an independent charity with a mission to help people and organizations to be entrepreneurs.
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BAUMANN Brigitte
EBAN President 2009-2012
Brigitte is the Founder of Go Beyond Early Stage Investing. Go Beyond enables novice & experienced, small & large investors, to access angel investing as an asset class through its unique platform, tools, training and expert angels. Go Beyond works with individual investors, family offices, professional groups/associations and corporations. Go Beyond operates in Europe and the US. Its team is comprised of seasoned business angels and is the subject of a Harvard Business School case. Brigitte is a Business Angel since 2003 and has received The European Investor of the Year from EBAN in May 2015. In 2017, Brigitte was selected in EY’s European Winning Women Entrepreneur program. In November 2016&2017, Brigitte is listed in Europe’s TOP 50 most influential women in the start-up and venture capital space and Top Women in FinTech. Brigitte is President Emeritus of EBAN, the European trade association for Business Angels and Seed Funds www.eban.org and Member of the Board of CTI Start Up www.kti.admin.ch . Brigitte is past Chair of Young Presidents Organization’s www.ypowpo.org (24k CEOs) global Angel Investing group.
Brigitte Baumann has 20+ years of experience in bringing new technologies to market in the US and Europe . She was the CEO and Director of iWORLD Group, a VC backed, global developer of mobile content. She was Senior Vice President and General Manager Internet at American Express (Amex) Corporate Services. There she launched a variety of internet businesses including online travel (strategic partner of Expedia.com and subject of HBS case study) and e-Procurement. Prior to that, Brigitte spent three years as President for US and Canada of Gemalto, the world’s leader in smart card technology and applications to introduce smart cards in the North America. Before, she spent six years in different Vice-Presidential/General Manager positions in the UK, France and Switzerland at Amex. She also spent five years with McKinsey & Company Inc. as Senior Engagement Manager, in New York, Paris and Tokyo. She began her career in manufacturing and sales with Rohm & Haas, a leading specialty chemicals company.
Brigitte holds a B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from Tufts University, Boston and an MBA in Finance from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania
Born and raised in France, Brigitte and her family now live in Zurich.
- Email us at info@eban.org with a picture and a short description if you want to be on the page!
Activities
GENDER FOCUSED SESSIONS AT EBAN ANNUAL EVENTS
PARTNERSHIPS WITH INDUSTRY EVENTS
- Interested in partnering with EBAN Gender?
Articles & Resources
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Unlocking Profits with Gender Diversity: EBAN’s Commitment to Angel Investing
By Janne Jormalainen, EBAN President and FiBAN Chair Emeritus In recent years, there has been a growing focus on gender diversity in the investment world, both in the venture capital
March 30, 2023 -
Driving Equity: The Latest on Women in Innovation
Supernovas’ latest study found that the 2021-2022 period had seen the most venture capital investment in women-founded scale-ups with over USD 9 billion invested over those two years. European investors
March 9, 2023 -
Should female angels only invest in female-founded businesses?
Julia Elliott Brown, founder of Enter The Arena and author of RAISE, considers one possible solution to address the funding gap for women founders. The dial is still not moving on the gender
February 15, 2023 -
Manifesto For a Gender Balanced Angel Investing Ecosystem by EBAN
Driving successful and responsible angel investing has been at the heart of EBAN’s identity since 1999, a mission we try to serve with every action. As a core value of
October 12, 2022 -
Women Angel Insights Report
New study reveals investments worth £2 billion made by female angels helping to create 10,000 UK jobs First comprehensive picture of female angel investment in the UK reveals thousands of
September 23, 2022 -
Gender bias or how investors are missing the best investment opportunities
By Selma Prodanovic, EBAN Vice President The overall assumption is that investors seek the highest return on investments. If this may sound like common sense, it is certainly not common
March 30, 2022 -
Funding Women Entrepreneurs: How to Empower Growth
July 1, 2020
Events
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The Power of Diversity: How investing in female-led startups will transform your portfolio on April 18th at 15:00 CEST
The number of women-led startups has been overgrown each year and with a highly positive performance. Investors frequently say they want to diversify their portfolios. Still, many miss
April 18, 2023 -
The Power of Diversity: Unlocking the potential of gender equality in a BAN on March 16th at 15:00 CET
Gender Diversity is essential to foster the early-stage investment ecosystem. Women not only have the capital to invest but also the interest, skills, and connections to support the BAN.
March 16, 2023