TechAngels Romania Invests EUR 4m in 75 Startups in 2020
In 2020, TechAngels invested in 60 new startups and continued its support for 15 startups that were funded in 2019 expanding its portfolio to 175 companies focused on tech-based solutions, the organization said in a press release. In total, the members of the largest network of angel investors in Romania made investments worth EUR 4 million last year, down 33% from 2019.
“For me, last year’s most significant trend was diversification. Apart from our activity picking up pace, as we have met with more than 200 startups, therefore tripling the number of meetings and pitches, we have supported new sectors that have shown potential. The way in which tech solutions permeate most of the industries has become more apparent to me. We have seen much more solutions in remote healthcare, education, in line with the sanitary situation we are seeing, but also solutions for services, retail, delivery, food, sales, marketing and other high-potential sectors,” said TechAngels president Malin-Iulian Stefanescu.
The investments were made through various methods: directly, individually, as angel investors, collectively, through TechAngels or via partner platforms or funds, such as SeedBlink or GapMinder.
+++A Quick Guide To The Romanian Startup And Innovation Ecosystem+++
“Being a TechAngel provides multiple investment options, either in projects run exclusively by TechAngels, or in projects developed with partners, platforms or funds, or other investment vehicles. The added value offered by the TechAngels network is the connection with a community that shares the same interests, the exchanges of information and an efficient way to assess opportunities,” Stefanescu explained.
Half of invested aggregate tickets up to EUR 25,000
Some 40% of the TechAngels have invested aggregate tickets of more than EUR 25,000 in 2020, according to a TechAngels internal survey, while 18% made no investments. The remaining members invested up to EUR 25,000. TechAngels have also contributed an aggregate 1,100 hours of consultancy, coaching and mentorship.
“For 2021, I expect the same behavior in our segment: acceleration of efforts to identify startups with at least viable, promising products, ramp-up of support provided by angel investors, who also provide know-how and networking to help with development, but also caution materializing in placing the risk in “multiple baskets”, so we are likely to see more tickets, however their values will be moderate,” says Stefanescu.
Eyes on 2021
The President of TechAngels believes that in 2021 there will likely be an increase in the number of tech startups that will address some of the issues in the sectors that were more impacted by the COVID 19 crisis.
“We have seen the startup projects’ ability to immediately adapt, to quickly reposition themselves on the market and according to the market’s needs, but this sometimes means that the proposed solutions may not be sufficiently defined or that the markets may be insufficiently surveyed. I anticipate that this year we will see a rebound in the industries that have been most impacted by the pandemic, with properly targeted projects that have emerged from the identified issues, with appealing propositions for the investors,” Stefanescu concluded.
