The sync effect—startups, angels and the power of moving together

Yes, the entire region is underfunded, and yes, startups could be more ambitious, but things are changing, especially in 2025. With active angel investor networks already established (and supported by Swiss EP) in most countries in the region, and with the new generation of scaling startups emerging, the future looks promising.

Last spring, in response to the demand for capacity-building support from Business Angel Networks (BANs) across the entire region, Swiss EP decided to bring them together and kindle a spark of regional collaboration.

Angel Academy 2.0.

Over the last five years, Swiss EP has supported all emerging BANs in the region. We have helped identify potential business angels, built their capacities through training programs (both offline and online), and strengthened the operational and managerial capacities of angel group managers. One of the first initiatives to educate and establish regional business angel networks was the Swiss EP-supported Angel Academy, which was launched in 2020. This endeavor was led by efino and Maria Carolina Romero, an expert with whom we still collaborate.

Thanks to this, and many other collective efforts, the regional startup ecosystem now enjoys the presence and investments of several angel networks, such as DSI Business Angel Network in Serbia, CEED Business Angel Club and Zephyr Angels in North Macedonia, BHBAN and Vrbas Capital in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Keiretsu Forum, which has a regional outreach but is still primarily focused on Albania and Kosovo.

However, all of these angel groups still see themselves confronted with challenges such as::

• How to secure effective angel group management?
• How to help startups be more scalable and investment-ready?

Luckily, our experts were able to help, so we proposed the Angel Academy 2.0. Maria Carolina Romero, Keo Sar and Maaike Doyer, our top experts in angel investing and BAN management, ensured that the academy's program was engaging, valuable, and suitable for the group.

The Angel Academy 2.0 program started in March 2025, working with members of the CEED Angel Network, Zephyr Angels, Vrbas Capital, BHBAN, and Keiretsu Forum. The group began the program by watching video material that had been previously recorded by MC and Maaike in collaboration with DSI, covering the basics of angel investing. The rest of the curriculum was co-created by BAN managers and our experts. In this way, we maximized the program's impact and effectiveness.

Finally, after a few months of working online, the group met for a live session on May 29 in Tirana, followed by a pitching event the next day.

During the Tirana gathering, Maria Carolina shared:

I was positively surprised by the different investors in the room and the dynamic among them. The most significant improvement was that the angel investors are not thinking in silo, instead they are thinking how to co-invest and create a multiplier effect. For me, that was the highlight of the entire event and program.

Growth and Fundraising Program

While BANs were attending the Angel Academy, another group of our experts worked with startups. Keo Sar, Helen Vasilevski, and Maria Carolina Romero joined forces to enable startups to become investment-ready.

Startups that attended the Growth and Fundraising Program (GFP) were nominated by BANs (16 in total) and handpicked by our team of experts. Finally, 6 of them participated in the program: Bliss, XRHuman, Vendor, barKoder, DINNA AI and cybee.ai.

Ina Markovik, founder of DINNA AI shared her feedback about the GFP:

The program was amazing. It's an accelerator program, so you get to work really hands-on with the experts. Every expert has their own point of view and their expertise to shine and teach you about.

Finally, startups also gathered in Tirana on May 29, where they worked with another Swiss EP expert, Jamie Reynolds, to perfect their pitch and product presentation.

Pitching Day

The Tirana gathering of investors and startups culminated on May 30 with the Pitching event. Six startups presented their businesses to five regional BANs and VCs who joined the event. Venture capital funds that participated in the event included Silicon Gardens, South Central Ventures, and VenturX Capital.

Vuk Lau, partner at Silicon Gardens, shared his insights and commented on the regional perspective at the event:

We firmly believe in the future of this region, but it's a tough battle. I appreciate the Swiss EP (its team and experts) because whatever you do, you do it with integrity. All the people you work with believe in the potential of this region and believe that what we are doing here can have a lasting impact.

After hearing the startups pitch their businesses, investors continued conversation among one another, searching for different ways to collaborate and co-invest.

What is next?

After May 30, the collaboration of BANs in the region is real and tangible. With constant communication among them and new joint activities already scheduled for the fall, the future looks promising.

On the other hand, startups have elevated their businesses and formed lasting connections with our experts and one another. We're confident that their time is coming and that we'll hear more about their successes.

And as for the Swiss EP team, the Investor Retreat and GFP served as a capstone to months of capacity building and also as a test case for a more structured investment facilitation model in the region. The dynamic created by pairing BAN managers and startups through parallel tracks—training and acceleration—showed the power of synchronized program design. This dual-track format could evolve into a repeatable investment-readiness blueprint for future regional initiatives.