1. 4th ESTER Meeting Tel-Aviv, 12-14 January 2005 Astrid Severin Innovation Policy Unit

2. Overview Business Angel Networks in Europe PAXIS transfer of experience Gate2GRowth InvestorNet ERDF funding scheme in Ireland Future set-up

3. The equity gap

4. Business Angel Networks (BANs) Business Angels - private individuals investing part of their personal assets in a start-up and sharing personal business management experience with the entrepreneur The concept first developed in the US-in Silicon Valley, California European networks first appeared in the UK, the Netherlands, Finland, Belgium, Germany, France and Italy Australia is also home to intense informal venture capital activity (www.businessangels.com.au)

5. BAN set-up Business Angel Networks (BAN) - organisations aiming to facilitate the matching of entrepreneurs with business angels (neutral, no evaluation of business plans or angels) Most EU BANs legally set-up as private firms, non-profit organisations or possibly foundations in collaboration with banks, incubators, Chambers of Commerce or Regional Development Agencies ERDF eligible regions have possibility of leveraging EU funds to co-finance BANs (LINC Scotland has been receiving ERDF subsidies from this channel)

6. Evolution of BANS 1999-2004

7. Evolution of BANs No of BANs has strongly evolved In 2003, EBAN identified 196 networks and by mid-2004, 282 European networks –Germany from 1 to40, Spain from 0 to 11, UK from 49 to 101 –Israel from 0 to 2 –Czech Republic 2, Hungary 1, Poland 1, Malta 1, Slovenia 1, Russia 4…

8. PAXIS Business Angel Networks HIGHEST - Networking between incubators and Business Angels KREO - Creation of BANs in Karlsruhe and Lyon (2001-2002) PANEL - Munich Business Angels SPRING - Creation of Business Angel Forum Region Stuttgart e.V. and initiation of a Business Angel Network Madrid START - Business Angel Network Management (Veneto)

9. UK - The environment –1998 The University Challenge Fund (£60.0m for new projects and seed capital for new spinouts) –2000 Higher Education Reach Out (£83.0m over three years to encourage academic spin-outs) –2001 Public Sector Research Exploitation (£25.0m to fund commercialisation of new technologies) –2002 Higher Education Innovation Fund (£77m over three years to encourage academic spin- outs)

10. The Oxfordshire Investment Opportunity Network (OION) Established in 1994 as part of Oxford Innovation Linking early stage, high growth potential companies with investors Technology- and Oxford-based, monthly mtgs 120 + Active Investors: Individuals (syndicates), VCTs (Seed Capital), VCs (3i, MTI), Corporate investors (GSK, Unilever)

11. Transferring best practices –OION model presented and discussed during SPRING / KREO workshop on early stage financing –Business Angel Forum Region Stuttgart established –Both models basis for BAN Madrid area (project started in July 2004) –Cambridge BAN tools presented and transferred to in Stuttgart (2004)

12. PAXIS – Transfer of excellence Transfer examples –Concept for creation of Business Angel Networks –Co-incubation of start-ups in biotechnology incubators –Euro-Office initiative supporting the internationalisation of SMEs –Combination and transfer of successful technology platform models (biotechnology, genomics, diagnostics)

13. Gate2Growth Networks and services for entrepreneurs (Business Matching), investors (InvestorNet), technology incubator managers (IncubatorForum), industrial liaison and IPR managers (ProTon Europe) and academia (Academic Network) www.gate2growth.com

14. InvestorNet Enhancing the capacity of European early-stage venture capital operators to invest in innovative companies –Acceleration of EU cross-border contact and communication –Provision of central points for accumulation of knowledge –Cross-border networks of support organisations and ‘project generators’ (universities, science parks, incubators)

15. InvestorNet Lessons learnt –Round table meetings enable personal contact within specific sectors but across borders –Investors are still find hard to find high quality investment opportunities –Investors main concern is exit possibility –Very difficult to identify potential investor members from new members states as technology focussed VC industry is underdeveloped

16. InvestorNet Round Table Meetings 2005 ICT and Design March 2005London Medical Devices April 14th-15th 2005Berlin Energy Technology June 2005Scotland Nutrition and Food technology July 2005Italy/Belgium Biotechnology September, 2005Copenhagen E-Content, E-Commerce and Media October, 2005tbd

17. Financing and the ERDF The Irish Research Technology and Innovation (RTI) Competitive Grants Scheme National Development Plan 2000-2006 (Operational Programme for the Productive Sector) Scheme supports commercially focussed, industry-led projects in product and process development Co-funded by the ERDF; Managed by Enterprise Ireland

18. Objective of RTI in Ireland Helping companies to reach and exceed European and international norms for R&D investment Increase –No of companies performing effective R&D –No of companies doing R&D for the first time –Investment in R&D in Ireland –Quality and quantity of the R&D linkages between companies and third level institutions and companies

19. Using the RTI Grant Process and product development projects for companies with expenditure up to 95,200 Euro Expenditure exclusive and essential to project (salaries, overheads, material for prototype tooling, travel, external consultancy incl. design) - 2 years

20. Assessment of applications Technical feasibility and innovative quality Accuracy of project planning and costing Technical capacity and track record of company in R&D Capacity to commercialise output of RTI results Increase R&D capacity as result of project Formal collaboration taking place (with other comapneis, R&D institutions, etc) More information: www.enterprise- ireland.com/rti

21. Future set-up Coordination Collection Analysis Exploitation of results 2 Mio Euro Networking Innovation actors 1.2.1.4 Innovation &clusters 1.2.1.3 EUROPEAN INNOVATION PORTAL Gate2Growth PAXIS

22. For more information www.cordis.lu/paxis www.gate2growth.com www.eban.org www.enterprise-ireland.com/rti alex.talacchi@cec.eu.int astrid.severin@cec.eu.int