According to Social Innovation Monitor (SIM), there are 1,505 Business Angels (BA) in Italy, 57% of which belong to a Business Angel Group.
In 2022, Social Innovation Monitor (SIM) researched Italian BA profile and their social impact. The study was carried out in collaboration with several Italian BA associations: Angels4Impact (A4I), Angels for Women (A4W), Business Angels, Network, Club degli Investitori, Doorway, Fondazione Giacomo Brodolini, Italian Angels for Growth (IAG), Instilla, Lifegate Way, Molten Rock and Social Innovation Teams (SIT).
Almost 68% of the identified BAs are located in northern Italy. Lombardy is the region with the highest number of Business Angels, followed by Piedmont and Lazio. The typical Italian BA is a man (86%).
SIM estimates that Italian BAs invested around € 93.3 million in 2021. On average, each BA invested in 3 companies in 2021.
49% of BAs concentrated their investments only in Italy. Of these, 71% have never invested abroad. There may be many reasons for this: from greater knowledge of the ecosystem to the desire to impact his / her own country positively.
Most of the surveyed BAs (61%) are still “Beginner Angels”, having each of them less than 10 startups in their portfolios. On the other hand, the “Experienced Angels” (investors with more than 10 startups in their portfolios) represent 35% of the surveyed BAs.
Italian BAs are primarily active investors (65%). In addition to financial investment, active BAs offer additional services to startups, such as support in relationship development and networking and business model development.
Many Italian BAs invest not only for financial reasons but also for social reasons: 56% of the surveyed BAs also support companies with a significant social impact. In addition, 84% are “Impact First Angels”, meaning that they invest in undercapitalised sectors or accept lower-than-market economic returns, to favour a higher social impact.
The report also includes a brief section dedicated to female angel investing. This phenomenon is still young in the Italian ecosystem, yet its potential contribution is significant. One of the study’s findings is that women look at the world of angel investing with increasing attention. Moreover, they could be a key driver to boost female entrepreneurship in Italy.
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For more details, the Social Innovation Monitor’s research (in Italian) can be downloaded at the following link: https://socialinnovationmonitor.com/report-impatto-business-angel-italiani/