YTD investments made by TechAngels investors reached pre-pandemic level
- EUR 2.8 million invested in Q3 for a YTD total of EUR 5.8 million;
- Number of members increased 10% up to 112 individual investors;
- 30 startups met in pitches;
- Regional and European collaborative network expanded with the affiliation to EBAN;
- Ecosystem collaborative projects extended with the inclusion of accelerators and syndicated investments.
Bucharest, September 18, 2021 – TechAngels, the largest network of individual investors interested in tech startups, in Q3 2021 saw a rise in the number of investors, extended collaboration among the various ecosystem players, i.e. accelerators, investment firms and private investors, as well as expanded collaborative networks both regionally and Europe-wide.
TechAngels members invested more than EUR 2.8 million in Q3 2021. The total amount invested year-to-date (i.e. January-September 2021) was EUR 5.8 million, almost as much as the pre-pandemic investments made by the members throughout the entire year of 2019. Recipients included startups in their follow-on stages, as well as new startups. More than 94 startups attended pitches throughout the first nine months of this year out of the 300 startups undergoing screening. 31 startups met in pitches with the TechAngels investors in Q3, which is a significant figure in spite of the group usually taking a break from formal meetings in August. More than one third (40%) of the solutions submitted by the startups during that same period focused on business, enterprise process simplification or increased sales efficiency. Healthtech and fintech solutions came next among the top areas targeted by startups in TechAngels pitches, each accounting for around 12% of the pitched solutions.
TechAngels participated in a number of acceleration projects arranged by ecosystem partners, such as How To Web, Techcelerator and Commons Accel, as well as in syndicated financing projects, such as funding for Metabeta (where TechAngels worked with angel investor networks in Timisoara, Cluj and Iasi, and with investment firms) or the involvement in the syndicated prize in the Spotlight program (where TechAngels contribute EUR 100,000 to the EUR 350,000 total prize). In its endeavor to support a broader startup ecosystem, TechAngels also expanded their cooperation with Romanian universities and with regional and Europe-wide investor networks.
“The developments in the Romanian startup ecosystem are synced to those in Europe; two of the recently released recurring surveys – by Startup Genome and fDi Intelligence -– have ranked Bucharest among the top spots in terms of growth recorded and potential as an emerging area. The surveys have also noted Cluj, Timisoara and Iasi as cities conducive to startup growth. The buzz seen in this domain will bring along even more funding opportunities, and I hope that the founders’ ideas will materialize into viable products more quickly and more practically from a business perspective. Our role as mentors and advisors here is often useful in burning through growth stages and in accelerating the learning curve,” says Malin Stefanescu, President, TechAngels Romania.
Aside from participating in Business Angels Europe (BAE), one of Europe’s angel investor networks, TechAngels also joined the European Business Angel Network (EBAN) as a full member. Being part of multiple such private investor groups provides TechAngels with new collaboration opportunities and offers an up-to-date view on the evolution of startups, which increasingly often target international markets.
For their activity so far, TechAngels received an award from the French Romanian Chamber of Commerce in September.
The organization will continue focusing on three directions: supporting start-ups in need of advice and resources, supporting investors wishing to take the step towards angel investing, and expanding collaborative networks within the ecosystem regionally.
About TechAngels
TechAngels is an open group of private investors seeking to support the development of Romanian and regional technology startups. The association currently has 112 members. The group’s investors are entrepreneurs or experts with multinational companies, with an extensive experience on the Romanian and global markets, in business planning, product development, market approach, sales, marketing, etc. As angel investors, the group’s members provide mentorship and advice to the selected startups.
For more information, please contact:
[email protected]; M: 0744 171 049