Business Angels Week
The BAW was launched on 17 November at EBAN Helsinki-SLUSH 2014, this year’s Business Angel Week focused on celebrating and creating “Success Stories” and inspiring “Cross-Border and Cross-Continent Business Angel Investment and Exits”.
“’Success Stories’ drive entrepreneurship and private/angel investment around the world,” noted Candace Johnson, President of EBAN and herself a founder and architect of the European/Global Success Story, Societe Europeene des Satellites. “In today’s global markets, a company must be born global. That is why we are pleased to be celebrating Business Angel Week 2014 17 – 23 November 2014 with our partners MBAN and ABAN as well as joining our colleagues from the Global Entrepreneurship Week to initiate Global Business Angels Day during that week on 20 November”.
“What better place to converge and launch the Business Angels Week than in Helsinki which has brought us so many wonderful Success Stories, inspiring the world over,” remarked Dr. Abdulmalek Al Jaber, President of MBAN, the Middle East North Africa Association for Business Angels, Seed Funds, and Early Stage Market Players, himself former CEO of Zain and today large Angel Investor in the Middle East with MENA Apps and Arabreneur. “We are bringing a large number of business angels and entrepreneurs to Helsinki to celebrate global Angel investing at EBAN Helsinki-SLUSH and will be organizing BAW events in the Middle East in December amongst Business Angels from Europe, America, the Middle East and Africa”.
About Business Angel Week: In 2013, EBAN celebrated the first European Business Angels Week, concentrating 141 events in 34 countries all across Europe. With a 5,5 billion Euros investment record last year, BAW is the reflection an active and growing business angels community. EBAN’s initiative was recognised and supported by Neelie Kroes, European Commissioner for Digital Agenda Daniel Calleja, Director-General for Enterprise & Industry and Dusan Stojanovic, Business Angel of the Year 2013. José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, inaugurated EBAW on behalf of the European Commission as an initiative for a more innovative and sustainable Europe.
ABOUT EBAN, MBAN, and ABAN: EBAN is the pan-European representative for the early stage investor community, gathering 146 member organisations in 41 countries today. Established in 1999 by a group of pioneer angel networks in Europe with the collaboration of the European Commission and EURADA, EBAN represents a sector estimated to invest 7,5 billion Euros a year and playing a vital role in Europe’s future, notably in the funding of SMEs. EBAN fuels Europe’s growth through the creation of wealth and jobs. For more information, visit eban.org.
Recently, EBAN joined with partners in the Middle East and Africa to incubate MBAN and ABAN thus contributing towards the global knowledge-based innovation and entrepreneurial economy and society with cross-border and cross-continent Angel and private investment.