THE PROJECT.
With this European Union funded project running 2017-2018, Business Angels Europe, WEP and its partners set out to increase the number of Women Business Angels by 10% and to generate 2.5 million € fresh investment in start-ups across Europe.
The WA4E project deploys awareness raising, training and mentoring actions (event based and on-line) to reach out to over 3000 women, identify, engage, coach and accompany women business angels, both new and already active.
The WA4E programme promotes and professionalises female angel investment in 6 countries (Belgium, France, Italy, Portugal, Spain and the UK). The project worked on the demand side with 480+ women entrepreneurs to access early finance, and improve their pitch.
WA4E will provide 200+ quality deal opportunities to women angels and facilitate 30 deals.
Find out more here.
The WA4E project deploys awareness raising, training and mentoring actions (event based and on-line) to reach out to over 3000 women, identify, engage, coach and accompany women business angels, both new and already active.
The WA4E programme promotes and professionalises female angel investment in 6 countries (Belgium, France, Italy, Portugal, Spain and the UK). The project worked on the demand side with 480+ women entrepreneurs to access early finance, and improve their pitch.
WA4E will provide 200+ quality deal opportunities to women angels and facilitate 30 deals.
Find out more here.
Barriers and Opportunities for Women Angel Investing across Europe
European Parliament
5 June 2018
The WA4E project held a breakfast briefing on the 'Women Business Angels for Europe's Entrepreneurs' in the European Parliament on the 5th June. MEP Miapetra Kumpula-Natri (S&D, FI) opened the meeting discussing startups and women, there is a disruption in innovation happening in digital. She highlighted the need for education of women. Role models are there to encourage women to be more visible. Women business angels do need to have more visibility, and that is where the European Parliament can help. MEP Henna Virkkunen (EPP, FI) seconded Ms Kumpula-Natri’s arguments, adding that there is still a lot of work to do for equality especially in venture capital and for business angels.
THE SURVEY.
This research has been done in the context of the European-funded programme, Women Business Angels for Europe’s Entrepreneurs WA4E which represents a consortium of partner organisations from six countries of Europe, comprising UK Business Angels Association and Angel Academe in UK; Femmes Business Angels, France; Be Angels Belgium; IESE, Spain; IBAN, Italy and WinWin, Portugal and the project is co-ordinated by Business Angels Europe, the European association for national angel federations and trade bodies. WA4E was launched in January 2017 and runs to December 2018.
The Research was led by UK Business Angels Association, who managed to reach out to a total of over 6,000 women across the six partner countries. By the end of the collection period, a total of 640 with valid responses were obtained across the 6 countries. This was 10% of the survey target market and thus represents a statistically robust sample of women in the partner countries and included 310 women who were already angel investing and 330 women were not angel investing, so this was a useful split to benchmark the characteristics of these two groups.
Characteristics of the women respondents:
The women respondents were mainly aged between 31 – 50 and the majority of the women respondents (70%) were highly experienced business women with a significant proportion of the women respondents (42%) having had 21 – 30 years of business experience. The Women respondents were highly experienced business women and were active in business across a range of industry sectors. Whilst those who are angel investing have more years business experience than those not yet investing. A significant proportion of women investors and non–investors had founded at least one business and nearly 72% of women who had founded a business have also positively exited at least one business. The women respondents had a strong level of annual income overall, with the majority having modest disposable assets
What were the key drivers for women to start angel investing
Supporting entrepreneurs to grow their business, “putting something back” and supporting their local economy was regarded as the primary motivation for women to become angel investors - and this was more significant than making a financial return. Keeping up to date with business and technological innovations and developments was also a strong motive for many women investors. The opportunity of meeting like-minded people and making new friends and contacts within a network, making new social contacts and exchanging experience with their peers was also seen as important for many women.
Read the survey here.
The Research was led by UK Business Angels Association, who managed to reach out to a total of over 6,000 women across the six partner countries. By the end of the collection period, a total of 640 with valid responses were obtained across the 6 countries. This was 10% of the survey target market and thus represents a statistically robust sample of women in the partner countries and included 310 women who were already angel investing and 330 women were not angel investing, so this was a useful split to benchmark the characteristics of these two groups.
Characteristics of the women respondents:
The women respondents were mainly aged between 31 – 50 and the majority of the women respondents (70%) were highly experienced business women with a significant proportion of the women respondents (42%) having had 21 – 30 years of business experience. The Women respondents were highly experienced business women and were active in business across a range of industry sectors. Whilst those who are angel investing have more years business experience than those not yet investing. A significant proportion of women investors and non–investors had founded at least one business and nearly 72% of women who had founded a business have also positively exited at least one business. The women respondents had a strong level of annual income overall, with the majority having modest disposable assets
What were the key drivers for women to start angel investing
Supporting entrepreneurs to grow their business, “putting something back” and supporting their local economy was regarded as the primary motivation for women to become angel investors - and this was more significant than making a financial return. Keeping up to date with business and technological innovations and developments was also a strong motive for many women investors. The opportunity of meeting like-minded people and making new friends and contacts within a network, making new social contacts and exchanging experience with their peers was also seen as important for many women.
Read the survey here.
Interested in knowing more about women business angels?
Check out these events and workshops across Europe.
- 30 MAY 2018 - Starting angel investment: keys for potential women angel investors at BizzBarcelona | Barcelona | organised by IESE | Find out more
- 30 MAY 2018- Pitching event | organised by IBAN | Salerno | Find out more
- 1 JUNE 2018 - Debrief Women Business Angel Club | Brussels | organised by Be Angels | Find out more
- 12 JUNE 2018 - Be Angel Academy | Brussels | organised by Be Angels | Find out more
- 12 - 28 JUNE 2018 - International Business Festival, with 8 thematic events organised by UKBAA | Liverpool | Find out more
INTERVIEW OUR PARTNERS.
Marie-Elisabeth Rusling
CEO Business Angels Europe Could you comment on the survey results?/What do you make of the recent survey results?/How do the recent survey results reflect your experience? The survey shows how the results are coherent from north to south. The sample used for the survey was a solid and representative sample. It was also backed up by qualitative follow-up interviews, exploring the motivation, obstacles and stimulation factors for women business angels. It was interesting to see how women across the EU share the same experiences. The survey results highlight a lot of self-inflicted limitations “angel investment is not for me, I don’t have the time, I don’t have enough money to invest”. Most of the interviews reflect how the women business angels are facing similar obstacles (lack of role models, lack of opportunity). All the interviewees seemingly had their cards in their hand but they didn’t know how to use them. This is why the WA4E project is very important, it provides all the skillset. The appetite of the women on giving back, on how to keep interest to the entrepreneurial world. The survey recognises that there are similar stimulation factors across the EU and the project can address these (mental limitations, fear, physically imposed obstacles). One of the unhappy findings was that most of the women interviewed were not encouraged to pursue business angeling by their financial advisor - although this is understandable! Are there any national specificities that you could identify that fit/diverge from the survey results? There are a few national specifities on the main survey results. Women need introduction, and want good opportunities & deals! (As there are certain specifities, each partner looks at the format of the event and tailors it for its members). And we noted It is not an imperative that it should be a women-only type of support. But The role models have to be female investors. As investors, women look for It is about more mixity and providing access to women to investment opportunities. The focus of the associations or angel clubs should be to help the women reach business opportunities of quality, and regular deal flow. Could you tell us more about your organisation? Business Angels Europe (BAE) is the coordinator of the project. BAE is a federation, an association of association and clubs of the most active angel clubs across Europe. BAE is still a young organisation, 5 year old it was started in 2013. BAE works a lot at an institutional level to get the market players' understood and the environment improved (profiles and benefits for business angels). BAE relies on what the members have done on the ground and also offers opportunities for peer-learning and mentoring. BAE works to improve the framework conditions for its network (the EU can stimulate Member States for action). There should be more awareness for pilot programmes and projects such as this one. One of the main points of contention is the fragmentation of the market. It is something that needs to be done at EU level, and WA4E might have a positive effect on that. There also has to be an emphasis on different sectors, more particular tech sectors, bringing more opportunities to boost this access to finance. At the end of 2018, the Angel Investment Forum will be the beginning of many such activities and forums across Europe. Within the frame of the WA4E project, it is about talking concretely about how the market evolved, what has been done and give a special kick for the taking the first step. Would you agree with the statement: the more woman business angels there is the more women entrepreneurs there will be? More investors are generally needed for the early stages, thus every effort counts. I am mixed about whether more women business angels will drive more women entrepreneurs. It is important to favourise the mixity of the economy, in the companies; not only when they start but also when they grow. Mixity is crucial at the moment where companies grow. From your point of view, do you think women will benefit more from being more integrated into the existing network of business angels or should women pursue their own, separate networks? I believe mixity is incredibly important. Integration is the issue. By integrating women in existing networks of business angels they have access to deals, best practices and best advice. 
Martine Van Went
Femmes Business Angels Could you comment on the survey results? /What do you make of the recent survey results?/How do the recent survey results reflect your experience? I generally agree with the survey results. There have been no surprises, it confirms my pre-survey assessment on why women finance start-ups. The unexpected result was the profiles who answered the survey. They were mostly retired women, with a lot of experience and not only in the industrial sector. Are there any national specificities that you could identify that fit/diverge from the survey results? I would say there aren’t. France is the average regarding women business angels; also in the global context. It would be interesting to know if there are sectors where women invest more? The study shows that women invest in all the economic sectors. In France, we can notice that BtoB companies are more likely to receive funds. Over the past year, French WBA had a strong interest for healthcare as well. Could you tell us more about your organisation? Femmes Business Angel is a network that was created in 2003. The only French network bringing together more than a hundred women who invest personally in start-ups and support them to grow and succeed. The selection process is very precise; all done by FBA’s volunteers. There are 140 members (with a seat in Lyon). The average age of women business angels is 50 years old; the youngest is 34 and the oldest is 84 years old. Every year there is an increase of 50 members joining (the turnover is about on third). FBA gives them a short training and then there are monthly meetings. Most women join for guidance and advice on how to find a good investment. Would you like to share your experience as a woman business angel/entrepreneur? What is the most challenging and most rewarding? I had a unusual path. I was a bank director for 15 years. 30 years ago I set up my own company, I had always wanted to be independent. Now, I only invest in start-ups where I can be part of the strategic committee. I am also part of the network PWI Paris. I believe the main obstacle for women business angels is not to ask themselves why they should do it. One of the main difficulties is executing the due diligence before investing in start-ups. Finally, most women are hesitant to become business angels to their contrary belief that they lack the cash flow. Huge sums are not needed to become a woman business angel; in FBA, most women invest between 5,000 and 10,000 EUR. The type of start-ups receiving investment are very diverse, with start-ups by both men and women entrepreneurs. We find that a high-performing team is usually comprised by both men and women. Are you planning any activities that will more specifically tackle the issues raised in the survey? How (if at all) will this survey help YOU improve your work? We are going to formalise the selection process. There are between 10 and 30% of women who are not women business angels and attend our meetings to gather information and learn about the possibility. As an association, we need these women to take the lead over the due diligence. The well-prepared have to learn the other one how to challenge a project until the final decision : do I invest, yes or no? The study shows that one of the barriers is the lack of confidence in financial skills. In order to help them going into the due diligence and not being afraid about what they don’t know, we are currently creating papers and informal documents which could be used as guidelines. We are thinking of doing events to inform women about business angels across women networks in France : every year we participate to the Semaine des Business Angels (Business Angels’ Week) which is an entire week – between november and december – dedicated to the promotion of our activity, in order to recruit new WBA. In 2017, we were in Lyon with our new deck and local Business Angels network. The first aim of that kind of event is to inform about what we do, especially the fact that you don’t need to be a billionaire VC to become a BA ! Would you agree with the statement: the more woman business angels there is the more women entrepreneurs there will be? I am not sure there is a correlation. There might be women entrepreneurs who absolutely want to be funded by women business angels, but it isn’t the majority. 
Frédérique Clavel
Founder and Chairwoman Les Premieres Would you like to comment on the survey results? I am personally very engaged in woman entrepreneurship. I am convinced there is a positive correlation between women investors and women entrepreneurs. In the survey, I find particularly interesting that women business angels are more likely to invest in women entrepreneurs project, even if it is important to promote diversity. The survey was conducted in a very serious manner. If all this collective work leads to the creation by the European Commission of a investment fund lets say 500 Millions euros, like FNA (fond national d’amorçage) in France a few years ago, to support national funds for women business angels it could be a real progress. It would lead to a a sustainable economic action independently from any subsidies on the long term ! Has the survey reflected your personal experience? Women business angels clubs want to invest in men’s projects because the latter seem more ambitious. Women's ambition expresses itself differently, it is not that there is a lack of ambition. Women feel mostly responsible for the value and figures they communicate on and they often reach the value they announced ! Women Business Angels sometimes also follow stereotypes, even more strongly than men, as they don’t want to be seen in a particular manner. Are there any national specificities that you can identify that fit/diverge from the survey results? There is a momentum in France to develop Women entrepreneurs and Women business angels. President Macron has made the cause of his five-year term equality between men and women. Therefore this is the perfect moment to push for the sustainability of this project. 
Jenny Tooth
CEO of UK Business Angels Association Could you comment on the survey results?/What do you make of the recent survey results?/How do the recent survey results reflect your experience? What I find interesting about the results is that across all the countries, the women’s experiences were very similar. Initially it was expected that there would be more differences, but the women faced in the same challenges. The second finding of the survey was that the biggest barrier for women investors was not about taking risks, but it was more about their sense of opportunity and their time availability and other commitments in life. The overriding issue was the lack of awareness around angel investing, especially from other women who did not talk about it. In conclusion, there is a lack of visibility around the market and this is a disservice to women angel investors. I was most surprised by the lack of knowledge and the financial advisors not telling women about angel investing nor about the tax breaks. Are there any national specificities that you could identify that fit/diverge from the survey results? The UK has a more developed market Angel investment market, with more than 15, 000 across the UK , yet still only about 14% of UK Business angels are women. Whilst in Belgium, with a much smaller community of angels , after a strong campaign, now women business angels are 22% of business angels. Could you tell us more about your organisation? Would you like to share your experience as a woman business angel/entrepreneur? What is the most challenging and most rewarding? The most rewarding in angel investing is to help an entrepreneur to achieve the next level of growth. It is very inspiring to see a company become something and go on to achieve success. It is a positive impact on the economy, it more important than the financial reward, although I also hope that I my investing will be successful. I am keen to back women entrepreneurs, but there are not enough women entrepreneurs coming forward seeking investment from business angels. Women entrepreneurs still have difficulty in accessing equity compared with their male counterparts and are falling to successfully present their businesses to investors , often being intimidated in an all male investment environment Would you agree with the statement: the more woman business angels there is the more women entrepreneurs there will be? Yes I agree, women are drawn to backing women entrepreneurs. Our research showed that between 30-50% of deals done by women business angels are into women entrepreneurs’ start-ups. It is unlikely that women business angels would solely focus on women entrepreneurs, there is no exclusivity created around women business angels. Women entrepreneurs need to be helped to come forward and compete on a level-playing field for equity. It is about the deal. From your point of view, do you think women will benefit more from being more integrated into the existing network of business angels or should women pursue their own, separate networks? From my experience, the women in our research survey have been less interested in women -only business angels groups. They benefit more from a diverse group. Women do appreciate the advantages of being in a women -focused investment forum, seeing regularly their own networks, being able to share knowledge, experience and issues. It enables mentoring and sharing experiences. We have already launched a Women Angel Investment Forum in the UK and WA4E is planning to launch a European Investment Forum this autumn.. |
Claire Munck
CEO Be Angels Could you comment on the survey results?/What do you make of the recent survey results?/How do the recent survey results reflect your experience? The results of the survey are very interesting and an unprecedented source of information – the geographic coverage, different countries, results that are quite comparable. The results show that the challenges are the same country to country; therefore we can work together to solve them. The results reflect what we experience here in Belgium. The most compelling result was that more than 90% of women declared they were not informed about the possibility of becoming women business angels by their financial advisor including their private banker. In Belgium, Be Angels works a lot with private banks; there could be a bias that men might be more interested in this type of activity. Also one of the main issues identified is that in general there is very little awareness in the press about the existence of women business angels. Finally, the study confirmed that for women time management is an important hurdle when considering becoming an angel. Many of these women are professionals, mothers as well as having philanthropic activities. When they are told that the more time they invest in choosing and nurturing startups, the better the prospective return, it worries them. We therefore have to develop services that enable them to become angels while managing their time adequately and more flexibly. Are there any national specificities that you could identify that fit/diverge from the survey results? In Belgium, there are two particularities regarding women business angels. First, they like to be discreet, they rarely want people to know they invest in start-ups and the nature of their activities as women business angels. This poses a problem on how to mobilise capital from women who do not want to be visible. Secondly, women business angels often have a strong interest in training, learning everything from A to Z about the investment journey. They use the investment process to learn about business models, new markets and so on from start-ups. Could you tell us more about your organisation? Be Angels is one of the oldest angel groups in Europe. One interesting fact is that it has changed from gathering 3% of women (5 years ago) to representing 18% of the members. More importantly, when women where a minority they did not invest, while they are very active now in co-investing with the members. This shows that when there is a proactive attitude in recruiting women, with adequate services of training and investment, it adds value to have diversity in the groups. This also shows that when you put forward services women are interested in, there is a real impact and it works. Would you like to share your experience as a woman business angel/entrepreneur? What is the most challenging and most rewarding? I was a lobbyist for 9 years and moved in the business angel network activity 5 years ago. I had to learn a lot of new skills, new competencies as I had to adapt to the change of managing a trade association to managing an angel group. I realised that there are very few women in venture capital, much less than in lobbying. When I started Be Angels, I created a women’s group, to start a trend to encourage investors to join, thus promoting inclusive investorship from minorities. I started investing myself 5 years ago. The results of the survey resonated in my own experience first as an intermediary, then by testing these recommendations myself as an investor. Learning and approaching angel investing with a group of peers was a great way to get started. Would you agree with the statement: the more women business angels there is the more women entrepreneurs there will be? I do not agree that this is necessarily true. Maybe more women entrepreneurs will feel inclined to present their projects to angel groups if they are more diverse. Overall having more women angels and communicating about diversity will be more attractive for women entrepreneurs. Women Business Angels will not act more leniently towards women entrepreneurs, but they will not be more severe either. All business angels are looking for good entrepreneurs and teams. From your point of view, do you think women will benefit more from being more integrated into the existing network of business angels or should women pursue their own, separate networks? Speaking from the Be Angels’ experience which has gone from largely male dominated network to a diverse network. As Belgium is a small country a woman would not benefit from having two different networks. Women business angels did benefit from being in a diverse network, as in our case they were mostly starting out as investors and could benefit from the experience and co-investment opportunities with the other members of the group. We do have a women only investor luncheon once a month to discuss the investment opportunities on top of the mixed investment events. 
Maria Jose Amich
Founder and President of WomenWinWin ‘WomenWinWin’ is a non-profit association promoting women entrepreneurship in Portugal, founded at the end of 2012. On the basis that female creativity and entrepreneurial potential are an under-exploited source of economic growth and job creation, WomenWinWin promotes, supports and enhances women entrepreneurs in Portugal. It has around 5000 non-paying members. The main activities of the organization focus on developing a community that shares experiences, know how and best practices through networking events and the online platform womenwinwin.com. Also, the association organizes workshops with keynote speakers and specialists on issues of interest to women entrepreneurs and their businesses. It also publishes and promotes successful women entrepreneur case studies and finally, it implements a proprietary Business Mentoring Program, accompanying women that are at different stages of their businesses. In average, the mentees that participate in the Business Mentoring Program are: 30% women with a business plan in the pre-launch stage, 30% women who have already started their business and are in their first five years of business life and the rest of the mentees participants are women who are at growth stage of their business, looking for support in growing their business or finding an exit strategy for their business. In relation to the WA4E project, WomenWinWin is now organising events raising awareness about women business angels. There are no studies on the number of women business angels in Portugal, but WomenWinWin estimates there are around 5% of women registered as business angels in BA vehicles, in Portugal. The objective of the organization is to captivate the interest of women, to raise awareness and provide them with the information and the know-how necessary to become women business angels. Furthermore, a medium to long-term goal of the association is to expand some of its activities, namely the Business Mentoring Program to other African portuguese-speaking countries. The Portuguese context is very important in regards to business angels and entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship was not a term or a concept very much used or even known within the economy and society before the 2008 crisis, which actually worked as a spring board for entrepreneurship. Since then, it has become one of the most used words in the press, as an ecosystem has flourished around it and entrepreneurial initiatives have grown considerably with several entities playing a significant role in its enhancement and promotion, placing Portugal in the top 25 most entrepreneurial countries in the world. The Portuguese government is also promoting women entrepreneurship with co-investment funds and a tax benefit programs to be discussed for future introduction. Universities and private companies are also doing a great job by developing incubators, accelerators, mentoring programs and founding venture funds to invest in start-ups. The main challenges for the development of the angel investment in Portugal are focused in three main aspects: 1.Public support: Sustainability of public policies and incentives, aligned with best international practices 2.Start ups: Development of “ready to invest projects” and growth and internationalization of the existing start ups. (it is important to refer that Portugal still has a majority of projects that translate into lifestyle businesses with low innovation instead of high-growth ventures). 3.BA’s: Capacity of current BA’s and attraction of new BA’s, also conditioned by the need of creation and development of an investment exit market. The barriers for women business angels are the lack of knowledge regarding business angel communities and investment opportunities, ‘this isn’t for me’ feeling based on several misconceptions, such as the amount of money needed, time allocation, the need for management knowledge and also the lack of self confidence and risk aversion. Also most ventures are related to seed capital investment in the IT sector where women have less experience and feel less knowledgeable. When asked about their motivations, one of the first aspects mentioned by women business angels is the desire to participate and be near the entrepreneurial scene, “at the edge of innovation”, participating in this “new economy”. Also, they want to help and support new businesses and at the same time have fun in the process and finally, they mention the interest of having financial return, being this aspect an important motivator but not the predominant one. WomenWinWin believes that there is a need to raise awareness in the obvious ways, with advertising and PR campaigns, with publication of interviews, success case stories…This association will be be developing awareness events, with non-investors and investors so that these two groups share and learn from the experiences of each other. It will also implement a training program in Portugal at the end of March and beginning of April, where the results of the survey on women business angels in Europe will be published. An Iberian business angel with vast experience will be talking about the ABC of angel investing during the event, followed by a panel discussion with business angels, men and women. Finally, WomenWinWin will also conduct a specific workshop event with women entrepreneurs to learn how to pitch for investment and organize together with other important players a pitch event for women entrepreneurs wishing to present their project. 
Paolo Anselmo
IBAN Association President What did you make of the results of the survey ? Mr Anselmo was not surprised by the medium size angel investment market. He says there are two key messages that have to be spread. First, angel investing is not for fun and it is not solely a tax break system. Secondly, he agrees with the sentence “the goal of the angel is that the company scaled up”. Mr Anselmo supports co-investment funds, with specific amounts to be dedicated to women business angels. However, he doesn’t believe that there should be a co-investment fund solely dedicated to women business angels. There should be co-investment funds dedicated to specific sectors (wellness, health, social, etc). Finally, there should be an increased focus on the circular economy through these investment funds. The European Commission’s project is the start of a federation of networks. IBAN (Italian Business Angels Network) is a network that also accepts single angels. This business model is most appropriate for Italy. In Italy, women business angels are part of angel networks, where there is often 100 business angels and two women business angels. Mr Anselmo thinks women business angels should be pushed to create their own small associations that they could then grow. It is not about crushing masculinity but creating a system of governance. Mr Anselmo has a degree in aerospace engineering, and has been working in Regional development particularly focusing on the world of the startups. |
