Europe is investing not only in startups, but in better investors.
Years have been spent building stronger startup ecosystems, supporting founders, creating new funds, and encouraging innovation. But another key part of that community are the business angels. As angel investing becomes more sophisticated, educating investors is emerging as an equally important part of strengthening Europe's innovation economy.
Business angels can play a really important role in a startup's early growth. Beyond providing capital, they often offer mentorship, strategic guidance, industry expertise, and valuable networks. Their involvement can also help startups build credibility with future investors.
Ongoing education is more important than ever
One example of this growing focus on investor education is the newly launched ESIL Angel Academy.
The Early Stage Investing Launchpad (ESIL) launched the ESIL Angel Academy to help both aspiring and experienced business angels strengthen their investment and mentoring skills while gaining practical tools to support startups more effectively. The course is free of charge and available online.
Learning is becoming an essential part of angel investing. The rapid pace at which artificial intelligence is transforming deep tech, biotech, and other innovation-driven sectors requires investors to continuously develop new skills. At the same time, evolving regulations and increasingly complex technologies make ongoing education more important than ever.
Teodora Atanasova
Supported by the European Union through the European Innovation Council (EIC) and EISMEA, the initiative brings together the expertise of META Group, BAE, and Bpifrance to strengthen Europe's angel investment ecosystem.
"Education and capacity building programs are absolutely fundamental to how you build and grow angel communities. We have to bear in mind that it's not necessarily easy to know how to angel invest. What are the skills you need? What's the process? What's the kind of knowledge I need to effectively find good deals, evaluate those deals, do the due diligence and make the right decisions? And that's really a process you learn over many years."
— said Jenny Tooth OBE, VP of Diversity at Business Angels Europe (BAE) and Executive Chair of UKBAA.
The importance of angel investing in (Central and Eastern) Europe
For Central and Eastern Europe, improving investor education could have an even greater impact, as developing ecosystems continue to attract more founders, investors, and international capital.
At the regional, national, and even European level, there are several networks of business angels, the Enterprise Europe Network, several innovation agencies, and regional hubs. However, Jana Drzkova, Head of Business Development at EuroQuity, Bpifrance, commented that she still sees challenges. "What I see as a bit difficult is cooperating across these networks to really support innovations —from research and universities to the market — and to accelerate their growth. I see high potential, especially in cross-border cooperation and cross-border investments, because some countries focus more on specific verticals."
What is important as well is knowledge transfer, she points.
"For example, business angels in Western Europe who are already used to investing in specific verticals can transfer their knowledge to the widening countries. We can empower business angels to invest across borders and even transfer the flow of money from Western Europe to the widening countries. I think this is a very positive signal for business angels; they are very valuable to the Commission, which is really looking to work with them to support their deal flow and build a stronger Europe together."
Europe's startup success won't depend only on producing more founders. It will also depend on building a stronger community of knowledgeable investors capable of backing innovation over the long term. As investor education gains momentum, initiatives like the ESIL Angel Academy demonstrate how developing better-prepared business angels can ultimately help create stronger startup ecosystems across Europe.
What do angel investors learn at the ESIL Academy?
Participants gain practical guidance on every stage of the investment journey, including identifying promising startups, negotiating deals, mentoring founders, and navigating investments in deep-tech companies, while also exploring the role of diversity in building stronger investment ecosystems.
The course is free of charge and fully online, offering over 20 hours of content led by more than 30 industry experts who have collectively deployed over €400 million in risk capital and supported 2,449 founders across Europe and the US.
It's delivered by leading angels, funds, and angel groups from across Europe, alongside representatives of the European Commission's European Innovation Council, bringing a combined 300+ years of early-stage investing experience. Participants also get access to downloadable templates and tools they can apply directly to their own deals.
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