The yr 2022 was difficult for Spanish enterprise angels, with greater than half making no investments in any respect. However 2023 guarantees to be a turning level: over 90% intend to get again within the recreation.
That is mirrored within the Enterprise Angels Report 2023 (out there in Spanish), produced yearly by IESE and AEBAN (the Spanish affiliation of enterprise angels). The report particulars exercise ranges and tendencies amongst enterprise angels in Spain, together with their ranges of warning and the diploma of demand for brand new initiatives, compared with earlier years.
Final yr’s low exercise was as a result of identical macroeconomic ills affecting different industries: inflation, greater rates of interest, and inventory market turbulence, in addition to basic uncertainty in regards to the future. In 2022, 59% of traders surveyed didn’t spend money on new or follow-up operations. That is in distinction to 2021, when 63% had been concerned in between one and 5 funding actions.
Differing approaches to macroeconomic challenges
Inside the sector, there are differing ranges of sensitivity to macroeconomic and geopolitical stressors. Casual VC (i.e., particular person enterprise angels, teams of enterprise angels, accelerators and incubators) has maintained its exercise in early-stage Europe-based firms, and even exceeded the extraordinary funding document reached in 2021 by 5.4%. In the meantime, skilled (often known as institutional or formal) VC has seen its actions in European and American markets impacted to a larger diploma.
The largest drops in VC funding befell within the second half of 2022, within the mature levels of startup growth, versus the preliminary phases. Notably, skilled VC has moved to those earlier phases, that are much less delicate to market fluctuations. For maturing startups financed within the final three years, this shift of focus has left many in a decent spot.
The resilience of the Spanish funding ecosystem
Regardless of the slowdown in skilled VC, the Spanish funding ecosystem has proven itself to be comparatively resilient inside the European context. Though it has decreased by 15% in comparison with 2021 (4 share factors greater than the European common), that is considerably lower than the 44% decline of Germany and the 25% of the UK.
Spanish traders are additionally extra fascinated with internationalizing their investments: virtually half are keen to make cross-border investments.
And regardless of decrease exercise, 2022 nonetheless noticed giant quantities invested, second solely to 2021. The typical per investor in every startup was 158,608 euros.
An urge for food for know-how and social issues
Buyers confirmed explicit curiosity in startups specializing in digital and deep tech, particularly these addressing the local weather emergency, sustainable growth, and digital well being. Within the quick and medium time period, the three hottest funding sectors had been agritech/foodtech (51%), well being applied sciences (46%) and inexperienced applied sciences, together with vitality and water (44%). In the meantime, curiosity waned in applied sciences associated to blockchain, cryptocurrencies and Internet 3.0.
Buyers more and more tried to include ESG standards to help and information their decision-making (62%). In line with previous years, gender just isn’t thought of as necessary a criterion: lower than half of traders contemplate it necessary when evaluating founding groups, and greater than 1 / 4 don’t have any opinion on the topic.
Feminine startup founders are nonetheless severely underrepresented, at lower than 16%. The hole is even starker in terms of accessing VC financing: of the whole cash spent, lower than 1% has gone to startups created by ladies and solely 12.5% to these co-founded by men and women. That is half of a bigger decline: at each the European and American ranges, funding in female-dominated startups has decreased by 18% and 20%, respectively, in comparison with 2021.
Concerning the analysis
The annual Enterprise Angels Report is ready by IESE and AEBAN (the Spanish affiliation of enterprise angels). The present version counts 201 accomplished surveys from investor networks affiliated with AEBAN in 2022, in addition to different gamers within the funding ecosystem.