Maroc - EBAN.ORG - A la Une - 19/Nov 08:02

Highlights from the BAN Manager Programme

Highlights from the BAN Manager Programme Brussels, 19 November 2025  How do you connect angel networks across countries that speak different languages or follow different rules? The BAN Manager Track session held on October 29 at the European Angel Investment Summit 2025 touched on these important topics… and the answers that came out were as insightful as practical. The room gathered some of Europe’s most active business angel networks and audience voices: Lisa Bennewitz — BAND (Business Angels Netzwerk Deutschland, Germany) Sinéad Byrne — Prospera Ventures (Ireland) Maxime Paradis — Paradise Club Niamh Sterling — HBAN (Halo Business Angel Network, Ireland) Julian von Hassell — Baltic Business Angels Marius Istrate — TechAngels Romania Tiina Laisi-Puheloinen— FiBAN (Finnish Business Angels Network) Grigor Hovhannisyan — BANA Angels (Armenia) Audience inputs from Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine and more The overall message was clear: cross-border collaboration is no longer a nice-to-have. It’s a must. Germany For 27 years, BAND has served as the backbone of Germany’s angel community, hosting the country’s biggest conferences and recognition programs. But more than that, Lisa Bennewitz reminded everyone of something policymakers often overlook: angels drive early-stage investment in Germany. Despite strong individual investors, public co-funding rules often tie BANs to local startups, making cross-border syndication hard at the network level. “Individuals can go global”, Lisa noted, “but networks can’t always follow”. Ireland From Ireland, Sinéad of Prospera Ventures reminded that angel investing isn’t new to Ireland, it just didn’t always have the name. In this sense, Prospera works closely with universities and innovation hubs to help founders, or as she said clearly: “translate their dreams and ideals into a language investors can understand”. Finally, her focus on education and female founders was warmly welcomed in the room.  Niamh from HBAN gave an inside and detailed look at HBAN’s operating rhythm. Picture this: during a pitch, investors scan a QR code, express their interest through a quick form, and within hours, receive deep-dive session slots. Follow-ups are pre-scheduled, data rooms opened, and by midweek, angels are back around the (virtual) table. It’s a system designed to capture interest before momentum fades, re-checking interest within 48 hours to avoid fizzle. Lessons from the North and East Representing Baltic and Northern Germany, Julian von Hassell brought a policy-driven perspective. His point: EU and national public money often flows through banks with “local-only” mandates, unintentionally blocking cross-border growth. His advice to founders? Think global from day one. Marius of TechAngels, from Romania, came strong with facts: “In Eastern Europe, it might take 3,000 startup attempts to create one unicorn”, he said. For TechAngels, cross-border collaboration isn’t a slogan is, in fact, essential. Their model runs without public money or membership fees, and is built on relationships that extend across the region, from Sofia to Ljubljana or Budapest. Meanwhile, Tiina from FiBAN (Finland) shared how her 600-member network combines strong education with community and a growing share of women investors. FiBAN’s Angel and Lead Academies have helped professionalise investing, but cross-border deals remain low. The next frontier? Training more lead angels and creating themed verticals (like defence-tech) to build confidence abroad. Armenia Armenia’s representative, Grigor, described a network that’s global by necessity. With a small domestic market, most Armenian startups register as U.S. entities early on, and half of their angels come from outside the country. According to Grigor, one trusted local lead can unlock the rest of the network (so far across 15 countries). The result? Around 5 unicorns founded by Armenians worldwide, keeping in mind that it is a nation of three million. Barriers and Breakthroughs Throughout the session, the same barriers kept surfacing: local-only funding rules, unfamiliar legal frameworks, and fear of “capital leakage”. But the solutions were just as consistent: build trust, create lead-angel pipelines, and document what works. As it would be summed up: “Collaboration doesn’t mean your money leaves. It means your ecosystem grows”. And the enablers? Practical ones: Capture interest fast — indicative tickets, and immediate deep-dive scheduling. Train lead angels — the bottleneck for many BANs. Activate diaspora nodes — they’re natural bridges for deal flow. Encourage founders to think global early — before legal and cultural barriers pile up. One of the most valued aspects of the programme was the opportunity for informal networking among BAN leaders. Many expressed their appreciation for the collaborative atmosphere and the rare chance to exchange ideas with peers facing similar hurdles. The Big Picture One thing was clear by the end of the session: Europe’s angel ecosystem is maturing, and its next jump will come from more and stronger connections. The BAN Manager Programme is EBAN’s answer to that evolution, and cross-border collaboration is about building an ecosystem where innovation, trust, and opportunity move freely.