Business Angels investment falls to €5.5 million in 2018

Investment made by informal investors (business angels) who are members of the Portuguese Association of Business Angels (APBA) fell to €5.5 million in 2018.

The figure was below the €6 million registered in 2017. In an interview with Lusa, the President of the APBA, João Trigo da Roza said that the “slight decrease” in terms of investment last year is down to the fact that “business angels are more selective and demanding in relation to the deal flow projects (flow of business) that appeared.”
João Trigo da Roza explained that there was a trend in the sector that resulted in business angels investing maturer projects, reinforcing the amount of investment per project, in other words being more selective in projects that showed a greater chance of succeeding.
“In practice we’re investing in less projects but giving more investment per project” he said.
The €5.5 million investment is regarding the total number of projects listed and identified by the association’s members. This is because there is a “shadow market that is not reported” and could have an impact on the sector’s investment figures.
The €5.5 million was channelled to 21 projects that each received an average of €265 million per project.
The APBA president also mentioned that in terms of investment target sectors, the trend is in artificial intelligence.
Investment in traditional sectors has also continued with advanced technology projects. High tech agriculture and innovative footwear projects have also been the target of investment.
In relation to the State, the APBA president emphasised that there is a line of continuity that works through the creation of co-investment funds with business angels and which have given an incentive to leverage the sector’s capacity to invest.