Zephyr Angels - building a community of investors in North Macedonia

For an early-stage founder, securing the first investment can be difficult. A company may have a promising team and a prototype, but not yet the traction required by a venture capital fund. Private investors face a different challenge: they may have the experience and resources to back a young company, but need a trusted way to assess opportunities and invest alongside others.

Gogo Rafajlovski and Igor Mishevski founded Zephyr Angels to help bridge that gap. North Macedonia’s largest business angel network connects pre-seed and seed-stage technology startups in North Macedonia and Southeast Europe with experienced private investors. Its members invest through equity, convertible notes, and Simple Agreements for Future Equity (SAFE) agreements. They also offer founders mentorship, connections, and practical experience.

In the first half of 2026, Zephyr Angels surpassed 100 angel investors. It completed two new investments, in KallIQ and Spona, and recorded its first partial exit through Veli. These are important milestones for a young network and for a market where early-stage investing is still developing.

Building participation before a portfolio

Although it is now North Macedonia’s largest business angel network, Gogo and Igor say their focus has been on building an engaged investor community. The network does not treat membership as a list of potential investors. It creates regular opportunities for members to meet founders, exchange experience, and follow investment activity.

The team explains its approach this way: “We never focused on building the biggest network, we simply focused on building the most engaged one.”

In 2026, the network has grown to more than 100 angel investors. Its first partial exit through Veli provides members with an early example of how patient capital can generate returns. It does not guarantee future outcomes, but it can help investors better understand the long time horizon and risk involved in startup investing.

For Gogo and Igor, that learning process is part of building a durable network. When members see investments, founders, and results over time, they have a clearer basis for deciding whether and how to participate.

Education for informed investment decisions

Over the past years, Zephyr Angels has made investor education a central part of its work. The network has hosted three masterclasses and seven pitch events, giving investors opportunities to meet founders and build a better understanding of startup investing.

Its philosophy is clear:

Focus on building a community before building a portfolio. … And don’t start by asking people to invest. Start by giving them a reason to belong. Communities create momentum. Investments follow.”

Swiss EP has supported this work by connecting Zephyr Angels with international expertise and practical experience from other startup ecosystems. Through this support, the network worked with ten experts, including continued engagement and collaboration with Maria Carolina Romero, Maaike Doyer, Helen Vasilevski and Keo Sar. They shared knowledge on angel investing, investor engagement, community development, and internal processes.

For Gogo and Igor, this kind of learning helps members make more informed decisions and gives founders access to investors who understand the risks and demands of building an early-stage company. It also makes mentorship more practical, bringing experience in product development, markets, hiring, and growth alongside capital.

Lean operations, visible activity

Although its community has grown, Zephyr Angels operates with a small team. Gogo and Igor rely on clear processes, customer relationship management tools, digital collaboration platforms, AI-assisted workflows, and active member contributions to keep the network running: “Like any good startup, we stay lean, move fast, and automate everything that doesn’t require a human touch.”

The model keeps administration light and lets the team focus on founders and investors. It also supports the network’s public activity. Zephyr Angels shares investment news and lessons from the ecosystem, highlights founders and investors, and maintains relationships through events and partnerships. As the team puts it, “Visibility isn’t the ultimate goal—trust is.”

Zephyr Angels within a developing startup ecosystem

North Macedonia’s startup ecosystem has expanded through local communities, venture studios, coworking spaces, and other support organizations. These initiatives help founders develop ideas, meet mentors, and connect with investors. Regional partnerships also give startups access to markets and networks beyond the country’s borders.

The investment market is developing, but it remains small. Startups often need to target international customers early, while investors and founders point to limited early-stage capital, uneven investment readiness, and administrative hurdles. Angel investing is not yet formally recognized as a distinct activity, and procedures for cross-border loans and domestic equity investments can be time-consuming.

This is where Zephyr Angels contributes. It provides a route to pre-seed and seed capital, while helping founders prepare for the next stage of financing. Four of its first five investments received follow-on funding from venture capital funds, including South Central Ventures. This shows how angel and venture capital can complement one another.

The network does not operate in isolation. It collaborates with Startup Club Skopje to co-organize the Startup Revolution AI Summit and works with Swiss EP, universities, corporations, founders, and fellow investors. These partnerships expand the connections available to both startups and investors.

The team is proud of their collaborations:

Nothing meaningful is built alone. The stronger the ecosystem becomes, the better every startup’s chances of succeeding. Angel investing is a team sport.

Looking ahead

Zephyr Angels aims to become a home for angel investing across Southeast Europe. For Gogo and Igor, the next phase means continuing to grow the community, support more founders, and create the conditions for more follow-on rounds and exits.

The remaining challenges are substantial. Clearer rules, more efficient investment procedures, and a broader base of early-stage capital would make it easier for investors and founders to act on investment opportunities. Zephyr Angels’ progress suggests that investors are more likely to participate when they have the knowledge, relationships, and confidence to do so.

In the summer of 2026, Zephyr Angels launched Zephyr Equity II, a €500,000 blended-capital facility that matches private angel investments one-to-one with donor funding. The facility is intended to reduce entry barriers for individual investors and expand funding available to early-stage founders in North Macedonia and the wider region.

Its contribution will depend on how it is implemented and on wider conditions for early-stage investment. However, it gives Zephyr Angels an additional mechanism to support founders as they prepare for later funding rounds.