Albert Colomer wins the award for Europe’s most visionary investor

• The Catalan has become a key player in the private investment ecosystem.
• His innovative projects have transformed entrepreneurship in Catalonia and Europe.

  Albert Colomer i Espinet has been honored at the awards ceremony of the European Business Angels Network (EBAN) Congress. The congress, held in Malaga and attended by over 500 investors, saw the presentation of awards to the most influential investors of 2016. Albert Colomer, director of the Catalan network BANC, won the award for “Early Stage Investor who has been a game changer for Europe”, meaning the investor who has transformed and evolved private investment in Europe. Colomer has fostered investment through business angels worldwide with the aim of promoting entrepreneurship and confidence in the economy. For 15 years, the Terrassa native has contributed to consolidating and professionalizing the startup investment sector. In 2002, he founded what would be the first Business Angels network in Spain, the Business Angels Network of Catalonia (BANC), and since then he has been one of the key players generating the investment ecosystem at local and international levels. He was one of the founding members of the Private Investors Network (XIP) together with ACCIÓ and 5 other members, and contributed to its evolution. In 2015, the network members invested a total of 17.6 million in 82 startups. In 2004, he founded the ESBAN foundation to promote the creation of private investor networks in Spain, which generated sixty networks and an investment of over 50 million euros. He developed the first statistical study on business angels in Spain and the first investment manual for Business Angels in Catalan and Spanish. His concern as a pioneer was to adopt the practices carried out by the best in the sector internationally. This vision led him to become part of the board of EBAN, the European Business Angels Network, with which he collaborates to improve the investment market on the continent. He is also the main collaborator of the Global Business Angels Network (GBAN) in Spain through BANC. GBAN operates internationally and brings together the most important networks in the world. The European congress has awarded Mr. Colomer for his entire career and his tireless contribution during 2016.