Special angel program launches in Denmark: Foundation provides money and training for talents who want to become business angels

This post is also available in: Danish

Diversity is lacking in the global startup community, and UK venture fundA venture fund is professional investors who scout start-ups to invest and mentor, aiming for innovation, growth, and returns. It is high risk, high reward. More Ada Ventures has launched a radically different concept to secure investment for a wider range of talent.

Based on the success of the initiative in the UK, the foundation is currently seeking 10 angels for its new Danish program, who will have access to training and a sum of DKK 6.9 million to invest in exciting new startups.

“We are very excited to launch our angel program in Denmark. Our community of scouts and angels in the UK is an invaluable part of how our foundation finds and supports the most diverse group of amazing entrepreneurs building game-changing businesses. We look forward to strengthening our connection to the Danish tech industry ecosystem and helping a new generation of angel investors and entrepreneurs from a broader range of backgrounds flourish,” says Matt Penneycard, Co-Founding Partner at Ada Ventures.

Ada Ventures, based in the UK, is an early stage venture fund with over one billion Danish kroner under management. The fund recently welcomed the Danish Export and Investment Fund (EIFO) as an investor in their £63 million (DKK 548 million) Fund II. To strengthen its relationship with the Danish tech scene, Ada Ventures is now launching its successful angel program in the region.

Ada-angels invests more broadly in the UK

The Ada’s Angels initiative works to increase the diversity of angel investors in Denmark by providing education and capital to those who are otherwise excluded from investing due to financial or social limitations. The angels will be motivated and supported in finding outstanding startup talent to help diversify the spectrum of startups receiving funding in Denmark.

In the UK, the program consists of a group of 20 Ada’s Angels, each with access to a £50,000 investment. To date, 30% of Ada Ventures’ investments from Fund I and Fund II have come from Ada’s Angels or the Scout network. It also includes 10x more teams led by women and 6x more Black British teams compared to the UK industry average.

“Ada Ventures is democratizing access to the VC world for more talent, not only by providing training that equips them with the knowledge and skills needed to make informed investment decisions, but also by earmarking a portion of the fund’s capital for participants. This initiative gives Ada access to a more diverse pool of entrepreneurs and helps address the lack of diversity at the investor level. We believe that this forward-looking approach has great potential, even if it is currently on a smaller scale,” says Tamara Savic, Senior Investment Manager at the Danish Export and Investment Fund (EIFO), an investor in Ada Ventures’ Fund II.

The deadline to apply as an Ada Angel is April 7 and the application form can be found here. The selected participants will be announced at the Startup Aarhus Townhall in May, and the development of the program will be presented to TechBBQ participants in September.