The European business angels network EBAN celebrates 20 years

• The network currently has more than 150 member organizations in over 50 countries.
• Since 2003, the president of Autoocupació and the Business Angels Network of Catalonia, Albert Colomer, has been a member of the network’s Board of Directors.

On March 6, the European Business Angels Network (EBAN) will celebrate its 20th anniversary with an event at the European Economic and Social Committee facilities in Brussels. The event will bring together the network’s founders, current and former presidents of the association, and members of the association’s board of directors, as well as members of EBAN and other organizations from the investment ecosystem. Since its creation in 1999, EBAN has acted as the representative network for business angels across Europe and has worked to support and develop the European market. It currently brings together more than 150 member organizations in over 50 countries, represents a sector that invests €11.4M annually, and plays a vital role in the future financing of SMEs in Europe. During the celebration event, the evolution of the business angels market over the last 20 years will be presented, along with the role EBAN has played in this regard and the investment outlook for business angels in Europe for the next 20 years. In this regard, the president of EBAN, Peter Cowley, highlighted that “EBAN has played a crucial role in the development of the European ecosystem in its early stages, and we look forward to revisiting the work that has been carried out over the last 20 years, as well as highlighting what the next two decades will bring for the business and business angel investor ecosystem.” The president of Autoocupació and director of the Business Angels Network of Catalonia, Albert Colomer, has been part of the EBAN Board of Directors for 16 years, being one of the most involved and committed members of the entity—an involvement that was already recognized in 2016 with the “Early Stage Investor who has been a game changer for Europe” award, given to the investor who has transformed and evolved private investment in Europe.