HBAN wins Best Business Angel Week Award

HBAN, the all-island group responsible for the promotion of business angel investment in Ireland, today announces that it won the Best Business Angel Week Award at the EBAN (European Business Angel Network) Gala Dinner Awards Ceremony held in Málaga, Spain on Thursday, 8^th June.

HBAN, a joint initiative of InterTradeIreland and Enterprise Ireland, won the prestigious European accolade based on the success of its Business Angel Roadshow that it ran in November last year. The roadshow took place over the course of 48 hours in four locations: Waterford, Dublin, Cork and Galway. The programme raised a total of €6 million in new angel funding, recruited 35 new angels and raised the profile and awareness of HBAN. In addition, two companies – Rubicoin and Glofox – both closed investment rounds following pitches at the roadshow.

HBAN saw off robust competition from other national European bodies to win this major international award.

HBAN set a very strong objective for itself in terms of delivering an extra €6 million of angel investment and running roadshows in four locations right around the country in just 48 hours. Moreover, the initial objective of attracting 27 new business angels was significantly surpassed, with 35 new angels coming on board, and some of these have invested already.

John Phelan, National Director of HBAN said, “We are delighted to have won this European award that recognises the success of our Business Angel Roadshow campaign.

“Our business angel week – with the roadshow as its centrepiece – was a huge success for us in terms of building awareness of angel investing in Ireland. The campaign was successful in helping us to recruit new business angels throughout the island of Ireland and we also raised incredible value in new funding for high potential Irish start-ups. There was a particular focus on PR and a major media campaign was executed around the Roadshow that included radio ads, radio interviews and news articles in national, business and regional media.”

Since 2007, HBAN angels have invested €73 million in 362 separate deals. When the €113 million invested by other funds in those deals is added, this is an overall total of €186 million invested in Irish start-ups in the last 10 years.