- September 3, 2024
- Posted by: EBAN Team
- Category: News
Having recently been established this year, the angel investor association IceBAN (Iceland Business Angel Network) has held the first official angel investor presentation in Iceland on Wednesday, August 28.
Founded in May 2024, with the help of founding partners such as the Innovation Fund, Nordic Ignite, Aranja, and the Center for Digital Innovation (EDIH Iceland). Already 25 angels have registered in the NGO.
As many as 26 companies have applied to present themselves to angel investors, and six companies have been chosen to step up and present themselves to IceBAN’s members. Their core priciples of the company are to create a strong and professional network between angel investors while facilitating angel investments withen the startup ecostystem throughout the country.
Jón I. Bergsteinsson, chairman of the board of IceBAN, says in an interview with Viðskiptablaðið that angel investor associations are very common abroad, but in Iceland there was a great lack of such activities.
“Much of it is related to the collapse, and funding from angel investors has not been able to reach the same platform in Iceland as seen elsewhere. Icelandic mutual funds have done very well in financing companies in recent years, but such investments usually come later in the financing process and have really only been in Iceland for the past decade or so.”
The term angel investor or business angel is associated with individuals who are usually not directly related to the founders of companies, but are nevertheless willing to contribute sums of money to help companies take the first steps in development or growth.
Jón adds that countries such as the United States, Denmark and other European countries have set up strong networks between investors and innovative companies. Investors in the United States have over the past 30 years created a good environment in all major cities with similar networks. In Denmark, amounts for angel investments can often range from 2 to 50 million Icelandic ISK.
Considerable risk is involved in angel investments, but Jón says this level is often underestimated. “Not only does this help companies when it comes to capital, but it also creates an environment where entrepreneurs can seek advice, guidance and knowledge from investors and their networks.” All of this increases the chances that the companies will get off to a good start.”