Welcome to the Business Angel Network Accreditation Page
EBAN-European Business Angels Network, the trade association representing business angels and other early stage investors in Europe since 1999 (EBAN), has developed an easy and sensible accreditation method for Business Angel Networks* (BANs) and Angel Organizations (AOs).
Organizations that successfully complete the accreditation process are recognized via the ACCREDITED BUSINESS ANGEL NETWORK Seal, which attests the quality of the organization bearing it. The Accredited Business Angel Network Seal attests the holder’s compliance to a set of quality standards and professional processes deemed by EBAN of fundamental importance for the correct functioning of any business angel community located on the European continent or beyond.
Furthermore EBAN’s ACCREDITED BUSINESS ANGEL NETWORK accreditation serves as an internationally recognized signal of quality and seriousness towards the broader venture capital and institutional investor community. Accredited organizations will be recognized as more professional counterparts by all the stakeholders of the ecosystem.
*A Business angel network (BAN) is defined as an organization grouping individual business angel investors for the primary purpose of enabling matchmaking between entrepreneurs seeking risk capital and private venture capital investors (business angels) seeking to invest in early stage startup companies.
ACCREDITED BUSINESS ANGEL NETWORK Accreditation can be requested from the following organizations deemed as “BANs” and “Angel Organizations” due to the primary purpose of facilitating investment into early stage startup ventures:
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- “Business Angel Networks (BANs)”: defined as a for profit or as a non for profit legal entity that has as a primary goal the facilitation of investment from it’s network of private investors into early stage startups seeking risk capital.
- “Angel Organizations”: such as network of networks, angel led funds, sidecar funds and co-investment funds in their various models: defined as for profit investment organizations that pool capital from both angel investors (individuals, syndicates or other angel funds), as well as from other private, or public partners (certain conditions apply), which perform investments on behalf of third parties, providing to the funded startup risk capital WITH network connections and business advise. The investment thesis of such organizations must be comparable to how business angels conduct their investment and support activities in startup companies they have invested in.
Explicitly excluded from the ACCREDITED BUSINESS ANGEL NETWORK Accreditation are those organizations that do not have, as declared per their articles of association/company statutes, the primary and fundamental objective of facilitating investment from private individuals into early stage startups. Not entitled to receive the Accredited Business Angel Network Seal are organizations such as, but not limited to, national or international trade associations of business angel investors; as well as all other organizations that do not conduct matchmaking activities between entrepreneurs seeking “smart” capital (i.e. money, network connections and business advice, mentoring and similar business angel trade profession activities), and their own base of private investors as the primary and fundamental activity of their organization.
Explicitly excluded are those organizations that have as a primary activity one or more of the following: public policy advocacy and lobbying, peer to peer networking, knowledge sharing and educational activities, research, startup/entrepreneurship support activities; investment consultancy and similar venture capital trade related service offerings.
Publicly funded initiatives comparable to the above-described “BANs” and “Angel Organizations”, are entitled to apply for the ACCREDITED BUSINESS ANGEL NETWORK Seal to be granted in compliance with all the necessary requirements. Family Offices, Electronic funding platforms, or similar early stage investor entities are also entitled to apply and receive accreditation should they comply with all necessary requirements.
EBAN and the ACCREDITED BUSINESS ANGEL NETWORK Board will be responsible for judging the accessibility of candidates to the Accredited Business Angel Network Seal accreditation process.
To be granted the ACCREDITED BUSINESS ANGEL NETWORK Accreditation, applicants must follow the below process:
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- Following a checklist of what to prove (above summarized) provided by EBAN; the applicant provides comprehensive information and documentation for reviewal, submitted via an online application portal.
- Following the adherence to the checklist, an inspection is organized, including interviews with the CEO and Board of the applying organization.
- A dossier is prepared by the inspector on the applicant’s adherence to the checklist, with commentary on findings from the inspection.
- The dossier is then presented to the ACCREDITED BUSINESS ANGEL NETWORK Board for review and discussion.
- Board votes and grants accreditation.
The Validity of the ACCREDITED BUSINESS ANGEL NETWORK Accreditation is 1 year from the date it is granted. An annual renewal in simplified version is available via a self declaration form stating compliance to the requirements. EBAN reserves the right to check further self accreditation forms submitted and grant the renewal. After the 5th consecutive annual renewal, the entire accreditation process is repeated with the full accreditation process described above. Accredited organizations that do not renew annually will lose their ACCREDITED BUSINESS ANGEL NETWORK Seal.
Organizations granted as ACCREDITED BUSINESS ANGEL NETWORK will receive from EBAN the official and trademark protected Seal, which can be used to prove the organization’s adherence to the industry professional standards set by EBAN. The Seal can also be displayed on the organization’s website and mentioned in the public, on company letterhead and other settings to attest the holder’s status.
In addition to the Seal, EBAN will also provide the organization administrators a template letter that they can in turn extend to their own angel investors as proof of their current membership in an ACCREDITED BUSINESS ANGEL NETWORK. It will be the responsibility of the organization accredited to provide any individual letters of their ACCREDITED BUSINESS ANGEL NETWORK status to their respective members and to ensure that all individual member letters are dated and used by current members only. Finally, EBAN will include a list of all the Accredited organizations on its website to assist as proof towards third parties.
Self Assessment Test
Below you can access a self-assessment test with which you can find out whether your organisation meets the minimum eligible criteria for getting the accreditation
For more information on the EBAN Business Angel Network Accreditation get in touch with us: