16th March 2010
Press Release: HBAN - €4m in Angel Funding raised for early stage companies in 2009
Dublin, IRELAND - March 16th 2010: New figures released today by Halo Business Angel Network (HBAN), the national network for angel investing in Ireland, show that it supported investment of more than €4 million in 2009 in early stage enterprises, through its regional networks and investment syndicates.
HBAN, which is a joint initiative of InterTradeIreland and Enterprise Ireland, raised these funds for 21 early stage firms in a range of different high tech areas, including medical devices, mobile security solutions, life sciences and biotechnology solutions and software development.
Approximately €3.6 million was raised through the angel investor networks operated by the four regional business innovation centres (BICs) - located in Dublin, Cork, Galway, and Waterford. A further sum of just over €800,000 was raised through angel investment syndicates coordinated by HBAN.
Diane Roberts, National Director, HBAN said: “The Innovation Task Force Report, published last week, has shown that there is a definite need for a specific angel capital industry in Ireland. Our role is to promote this sector by creating links between investors and entrepreneurs”.
“A big part of this process is the development of syndicates of investors, as a means of creating a greater funding capacity by pooling resources and expertise. Instead of one investor taking all of the risk, we’re creating groups of five to ten investors to put funds into firms that have significant export potential. A good example would be the syndicates of investors in life sciences that we began to set up last month,” said Mrs. Roberts.
“Longer term, the development of the angel capital industry will be an important means of supporting economic recovery. It’s widely acknowledged that Ireland will not be able to rely solely on investment from multinationals in future, so supporting local enterprise, through angel investors and other means, will be critical for ‘Ireland, Inc.’,” she said.
Matt Norton, CEO of mobile security solutions firm Sentry Wireless, one of the early stage enterprises that has raised funds in cooperation with HBAN, said: “For firms like ours that have been in existence for just a few years and are looking for an extra injection of capital to support growth, HBAN represents an extremely important resource. HBAN not only helps to find the investment, it also helps find the kind of investor who has a knowledge and understanding of the business that you’re in”.
Liam Nellis, Chief Executive, Intertrade Ireland, said: “HBAN has made a significant contribution in a short period of time, by beginning to bridge the gap in the provision of seed and early stage finance. We look forward to further developing and growing the network to create and harness a culture of angel investment on the island of Ireland”.
About Halo Business Angel Network (HBAN):
HBAN is an all-island umbrella group for business angel networks, dedicated to the promotion of angel investment and supporting the early stage entrepreneurial community in Ireland. HBAN operates regionally through the Dublin, Cork, Waterford, and Galway Business Innovation Centres (BICs) who each run local angel networks. Collectively HBAN actively works to increase the number of angel investors involved in investing in early stage companies and supports the formation of new and existing angel networks, both regionally and internationally, and within industry sectors. HBAN, which is a joint initiative of InterTradeIreland and Enterprise Ireland, also acts as a voice to Government, stakeholders, business and the media to promote the interests and needs of the angel investment community. Further information is available at: http://www.hban.org.
For further information contact:
Diane Roberts, National Director, Halo Business Angel Network
T: 01 665 0420
E: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Charles Hogan/Tim Kinsella, MKC Communications
T: 01 703 8609
M: 086 043 6328
