The Investor Network
Without them, some innovative ideas would not make it beyond the vision stage: Business angels, who not only invest financially in a company, but also actively support startup founders with their knowledge and contacts. The Business Angels Club Berlin-Brandenburg (BACB),, which celebrated its 20th anniversary last year, is not only the largest Business Angels network in the metropolitan region, but also occupies a leading position in Germany.
In 2024 alone, the BACB brokered investments of over 2.3 million euros for 21 Berlin startups. Across Germany, the club facilitated almost 130 individual investments – so-called Angel Tickets – for 29 startups. In addition, 400,000 euros were brokered to support a research project at Humboldt-Universität in the field of quantum solar technology and around one million euros were invested in 17 startups via BACB Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH (Berlin Angel Fund).
The forerunner was the network foundation of the Investitionsbank Berlin
Last year, the BACB celebrated its 20th anniversary even though the club started a few years earlier. The initiative to activate more private capital for startups in the capital was launched back in 1998 – when the Investitionsbank Berlin created the first network to bring founders and investors together. In 2002, the network was then spun off into an independent association, which was finally officially founded in 2004. There are now over 150 members. The investment amounts have risen continuously, and a new record was set in 2024 with 21 startups supported. These are only Berlin-based startups; eight more startups were added across Germany. “Since then, we are no longer an ‘advisory network with possible financial support’, but an ‘investor network’,” says Sebastian Schwenke, Managing Director of the BACB.
Own focus cluster on the healthcare industry
The fact that the topic of healthcare in particular is of great importance to the BACB is demonstrated by the fact that the focus cluster “BACB Health Angels” was founded two years ago. This focuses on the topics of Healthcare, MedTech, Pharma, BioTech. After there were 119 applications in the health sector last year and 81 startups were able to present themselves in the Health Cluster, investments were ultimately made in five startups: hellomed, Ababax/Nuuron, XenoPatch, Femna Health, Bearcover and Wellspent. The total sum of the 32 tickets amounted to 1,035,000 euros. Most recently, the company also invested successfully in Eversion. There are now two further focus clusters: the BACB Tech Angels and the BACB Consumer Angels.
In order to be supported by the BACB, startups must go through a match and dealmaking process. In a nutshell, it works like this: Application via the website, pre-check by the BACB Dealflow team, feedback from interested angels, pitching day and then possible collaboration. “We accompany the process right up to the signing of the contract and provide support in setting deadlines, communication and with standard contracts/best practice recommendations, etc.,” says Schwenke. “In addition, our members and office staff provide over 150 free consulting hours for startups every year – without investment – and over 30 workshops with startups on the topic of ‘How do I successfully launch my first fundraising campaign and what are Business Angels?’”
A trial membership is available for those interested in Angels
According to Schwenke, anyone who is interested in becoming an Angel can drop in on events at any time without obligation. “We also offer a free, two-month trial membership so that we can provide a low-threshold introduction to Angel Investing for everyone,” the Managing Director adds: “We are very proud that 17.4 percent of our members are female, compared to an industry average of just 13 percent. However, this is still not enough, which is why we want to encourage women in particular to take a closer look at the topic of startup support and Angel Investing.”
According to Schwenke, one of the things the club appreciates about Berlin is that the city attracts top talent and investors despite the difficult overall economic situation. “After Berlin became known in recent decades primarily for startups in the eCommerce and consumer sectors, we are seeing enormous development in the areas of healthcare and DeepTech, with which we as a location are keeping up with the startup centres in southern Germany.”
In the coming years, the BACB would like not only to develop further topic clusters but also increasingly recruit and train new Angels. The vision is for every successful entrepreneur in Berlin-Brandenburg to invest their know-how, network and capital in the next generation of entrepreneurs. In addition, further thematic clusters and cooperation and partnerships beyond Berlin and Brandenburg are to be expanded – with the aim of attracting even more Business Angels and capital to the metropolitan region. There are also plans to expand cooperation with HealthCapital, which has already seen mutual visits at events in the past.
More information can be found here on the website of the Berlin Brandenburg Healthcare Industry Cluster: In Portrait | The Investor Network | Health Industry Cluster Berlin-Brandenburg
