The Role of Business Angels and the Opportunities of Limited Partners in Greece

During the last two decades, the institution of business angels has been recognized and grown worldwide. Although Europe has totally indicated a positive trend in the development of this institution, unfortunately, Greece is very slow to follow this growth rate. Despite the few successful exceptions.

Thus, there is an alternative approach that can be a reduced business risk opportunity. This approach is at the role of a limited partner by participating in a fund, also known as a venture capital fund.

Venture capital funds, such as Genesys Ventures or Blo Ventures give the opportunity to Limited Partners that participate in them, to co-fund, if they wish it on the same terms (pari-passu) as the funds. Through this model, business angels can take advantage of the recent tax motivations that the Greek government has introduced for the startups registered in the Elevate Greece registry. At the same time, they ensure the deal, they entering into, is competent and based on appropriate terms, ensuring that the startups collaborate with institutional funders, who can provide additional capital and support in the future.

The selection of the role of limited partner can be preferred by the business angels, as it provides the ability to participate in co-funding opportunities with other investors and at the same time they have the experience and network of venture capital funds. In addition, participating in a venture capital fund enables them to invest in more opportunities, allowing the competent spread of risk.

Through this approach, they can take advantage of these opportunities in the startup's ecosystem, in order to co-fund with other investors to provide support to startups by creating a vibe of growth and innovation in the Greek market. In this context, the selection of the role of limited partners can be a successful alternative approach for business angels who want to invest in startups in Greece.