Cork to host gathering of business angels investors

Cork is set to play host to a gathering of European business angel investors that aims to increase the total annual investment in Europe to €10 billion by 2025.

That is an increase of €2 billion on previous figures. The local economy is also set to benefit, with the European Business Angel Network (EBAN) Congress expected to bring €250,000 to local businesses and hospitality.

The event, the first in-person event in more than two years, will be held at Páirc Uí Chaoimh on May 18th and 19th. Up to 350 business angels, investors and start-ups from 35 countries will attend the event, which is being hosted by CorkBIC and offers an international networking opportunity for investors and start-ups.

Significant

“This year’s congress is hugely significant for our members and Europe’s start-up ecosystem. A vital element of investing and fundraising is networking and as Europe’s largest angel network - consisting of more than 100 member angel networks and over 20,000 investors - we are very excited to be able to facilitate that on a large, international scale again,” said Janne Jormalainen, president of the European Business Angels Network.

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“Last year, angels in our member organisations invested close to €8 billion in start-ups. By reconnecting angel investors with Europe’s start-ups, this congress represents a new era of angel investment on our continent as we work towards reaching the €10 billion milestone by 2025.”

The event is being organised by Cork BIC, EBAN and the European Commission’s InvestEU Portal. A total of €18.2 million in angel investment was recorded by the Halo Business Angel Network (HBAN) on the island of Ireland last year, with €7.5 million contributed by the southwest.

“Angel investment has been steadily growing in the Southwest region, bringing opportunities to investors and start-ups alike,” said Michael O’Connor, chief executive of CorkBIC. “We are honoured to be putting Cork on the European stage as we reconnect the angel community and work together to increase angel investment across Europe. We look forward to welcoming business angels, investors and start-ups to the Congress and exchanging ideas on how angel investment can further economic growth.”

Trends

Speakers will provide insights on investing trends, environmental, social and governance (ESG) funding routes, the power of accelerators for raising global finance, and building a more diverse community.

Among the keynote speakers at the event are Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Michael McGrath, Acorn founder and investor Dr Hermann Hauser, and Microsoft Azure’s chief security and risk officer Edna Conway.

“Cork is continuing to raise the bar as a hub for entrepreneurialism, scaling and investment. Some of Ireland’s most promising start-ups and scale-ups are located here, along with some of the world’s largest enterprises,” Mr McGrath said. “Helped by the tremendous work of CorkBIC, our region is now on the world map as a centre for innovation, making it well-placed to host an international event of this calibre and being a launching pad for the future of angel investment across Europe.”

The EBAN annual awards ceremony will also return in-person, with a gala dinner in Vertigo, Cork County Hall, on May 18th.