The nomination of Michel Rzonzef as the new president of the Luxembourg Business Angel Network (LBAN) is a significant development for the organization.
The Luxembourg Business Angel Network (LBAN) is a non-profit organization established to promote entrepreneurship and the development of startups in Luxembourg. The association brings together private investors who provide funding and support to early-stage companies in a range of industries.
By electing Michel Rzonzef, a seasoned business leader and entrepreneur, the LBAN is signaling its commitment to fostering innovation and driving economic growth in the region.
The purpose of LBAN is to support entrepreneurship and the growth of startups in Luxembourg. The association provides a platform for private investors, known as business angels, to connect with entrepreneurs seeking funding and support. LBAN facilitates meetings and networking opportunities between investors and entrepreneurs, provides mentorship and coaching to startups, and advocates for policies that promote entrepreneurship and innovation. The association plays a vital role in the startup ecosystem in Luxembourg and has helped to launch many successful companies in the region.
The new president and his board will focus on three main areas of development: the community of members, investments and the ecosystem. “First and foremost, it is important to understand that LBAN has evolved in recent years from a group of investors looking for investment opportunities to a group of investors that not only invests but also supports the ecosystem”, tells Michel Rzonzef.
“By developing our community and improving the quality of our dealflow we really want to offer more diversity in investment”
Michel Rzonzef, President of LBAN
Community development is therefore the first pillar that the new president wishes to accelerate. “We want to have an active community with access to investment opportunities,” comments Rzonzef. “This will be achieved through increased networking to meet the key players in the ecosystem, but also to provide support to investors, particularly through our academy.” Investor education and training are therefore key to attracting a new investor community and retaining existing members.
A record year
On the investment side, the year 2022 was a record year with 8.5 million euros invested by Luxembourg business angels for 15 to 20 core deals over the year. “The investment dealflow is working well and we want to strengthen the quality of this dealflow and diversify it further by participating in major trends such as greentech projects”, adds LBAN’s president. The tools used by investors seem to be one of the things the new president wants to focus on, such as solutions for managing investment portfolios.
“By developing our community and improving the quality of our dealflow we really want to offer more diversity in investment”, argues Michel Rzonzef. On this point, the new president highlights the recent creation of a co-investment tool allowing investors to group together and invest in one or more projects. “This allows them to meet, discuss and explore new investment opportunities on which they would not have positioned themselves individually,” highlights LBAN’s president.
More engagement
Finally, the third axis of development – notably underlined in the last study published by Startup Genome about the Luxembourg ecosystem – is to reinforce the presence of LBAN in the Luxembourg ecosystem and its capacity to create bridges with other organizations.
“We want to be more active with Luxembourg incubators, and organizations such as ILA, LPEA and FJD. We want to connect experienced leaders to amplify their ability to invest in Luxembourg companies. Another key point is to continue to network with other groups of investors in the Greater Region and in Europe to connect more investors,” highlights Michel Rzonzef.
This is already reflected in a more diversified board with people who come from the corporate world, others who are entrepreneurs and people already involved in the Luxembourg tech ecosystem. With their guidance, the LBAN is well-positioned to continue its mission of promoting entrepreneurship and supporting the growth of startups in Luxembourg.
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