Esade BAN Recognised as Best Business Angels Network in Spain

Esade BAN has been recognised by the Spanish Business Angels Association as Spain’s best business angels network in 2020. The award was presented on 3rd March at the 1st AEBAN Business Angels Investment Global Summit, which was dedicated to analysing the situation of early-stage private direct investment in Spain and Europe. The summit featured the 8th edition of the awards given by the association to promote and support the figure of the business angel as a means of funding innovative business projects.

Active during the pandemic

In a normal year, Esade BAN moves approximately €5 million; in 2020, the figure was €3 million. However, according to Esade BAN Director Fernando Zallo (Lic&MBA ‘83), the latest statistics show that in the first months of 2021, Spain has already seen as much investment in startups as it did in all of 2020.

In 2020, Esade BAN started organising webinars to increase the visibility of entrepreneurs and allow them to discuss how they were getting along and adapting to the circumstances of the pandemic – and even to ask for help. The network’s investors, for their part, highlighted companies that were doing well by inviting them to participate in a webinar to share their insights with others.

Thus, there was an influx of interesting projects throughout 2020 and investors remained engaged with the network, attending even more forums than before. The best option for the future, therefore, may be a hybrid model that encompasses both face-to-face and virtual forums.

The investor network is now focused on returning to its usual annual investment figure of approximately €5 million, bringing in new members through its Business Angels School, making deals that provide a full service to entrepreneurs and offering value to talented investors.