Business Angels members of the associations of FNABA, with 40 applications approved, will be responsible for 50 million euro of investment in start-ups in the next 3 years.

We already know the final numbers of Business Angels’ groups (Vehicle Entities) whose applications were accepted to make syndicated investments with the Co-Investment Fund made available by Programa COMPETE (Notice n.º 05/SAPFRI/2009).

From the 50 Vehicle Entities (VE) to be created, 80% will be leaded by Business Angels of the Associations member of FNABA. At regional level, the approvals were divided between Business Angels Club (Lisboa), Clube de Cascais, Invicta Angels (Porto), Centro Business Angels (Coimbra), Vima Angels (Guimarães), Alenbiz (Évora), Associação de BA da Covilhã and Associação de BA de Santarém, with 10, 9, 8, 5, 4, 2,1 and 1 VE respectively.

The investment amount supported by QREN in the scope of FNABA is 20 million euro, to which we add 10 million by the 200 Business Angels that are associated in the mentioned VE. To this amount we will add the investments to be made by the respective entrepreneurs and also the direct bank financing to the investee companies by the mentioned VE. In total, we estimate that until the end of 2012 it will be an investment of 50 million euro by Business Angels of the networks member of FNABA.

The initial provision of QREN to this Fund was 10 million euro, but was reviewed and raised to 25 million, answering thus to the high number of applications presented by Business Angels that, even so, drained the available fund.

Like the fund, we expect that the supportive Auxiliary Program to this Co-Investment Fund created by Caixa Capital, initially of 1.5 million euro, is reinforced allowing this society of venture capital to constitute as the most direct associated to the strong dynamics of Business Angels’ activity in Portugal, and consequently the higher investor in Venture Capital’ projects.

According to Francisco Banha, FNABA’s president “it was an important stimulus so that many Business Angels become active investors in the seed and start-up stages.

Francisco Banha adds that “this initiative is based in the public-private co-investment that extends itself from the Government and Business Angels to banks and Entrepreneurs, which puts in a lot of hands the success of this initiative. The applied model was already successfully tested in the Netherlands (Techno Partners), and also a similar co-investment program is under development in the UK (UK Innovation Investment Fund), which makes us believe that there is only one path possible - success!”

We expect that the first investments will be made in the second quarter of 2010 once that the next three months should be dedicated to formal issues associated to governance of the selected VE.

Despite the indubitable merit of this important initiative, implemented by the Portuguese government, namely through Programa Compete, IAPMEI and PME INVESTIMENTOS, in the dynamics of the Business Angels’ activity, Francisco Banha notes that “the international best practices recommend the adoption of tax mechanisms to attract more investors capable of stimulating the entrepreneurs in obtaining success in creating and expanding their businesses at a global level.” In that sense, he remembers that since 2 years ago FNABA has been raising awareness in the Portuguese government to the importance and economic evidence of a right tax policy incentive to the BA’s activity having, thus, the strong belief that the next State General Budget can complement a precise answer to the intents of all the Portuguese BA community.




For more information about the co-investment fund please contact FNABA:

FNABA - Federação Nacional de Associações de Business Angels
www.fnaba.org ; info@fnaba.org
Tel: (+351) 21 441 64 60 ; Fax: (+351) 21 441 73 87
Rua 7 de Junho de 1759, Nº 1
Lagoal - 2760-110 Caxias

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BUSINESS ANGELS
Business Angels are individual investors, normally businessmen or company directors that invest their capital, knowledge and experience in projects leaded by entrepreneurs that are beginning their activity. The investments aim to its valorisation at medium term, in the expectation of subsequent alienation to other parts interested.

FNABA - Federação Nacional de Associações de Business Angels (www.fnaba.org), currently comprises:
- Alenbiz - Associação de Business Angels do Alentejo
- Algarve Business Angels - Associação de Business Angels do Algarve
- Business Angels Club - Associação Portuguesa de Investidores em Start-Ups
- Centro Business Angels - CEC/CCIC
- Clube de Business Angels da Covilhã
- Clube de Business Angels de Santarém
- Clube de Cascais - Associação de Investidores de Cascais
- Invicta Angels - Associação de Business Angels do Porto
- OPEN Business Angels
- Vima Angels - Associação de Business Angels de Guimarães

FNABA - National Federation of Business Angels’ Associations is part of the Board of EBAN- European Business Angels Network ( www.eban.org) and of the Board of WBAA - World Business Angels Association ( www.wbaa.biz) from which was a charter member.