HBAN angels to invest €10M in sustainability start-ups with launch of Impact Syndicate

HBAN (Halo Business Angel Network), the all-island organisation responsible for the promotion of business angel investment, and a joint initiative of Enterprise Ireland, InterTradeIreland and Invest Northern Ireland, today announces plans to increase funding for socially-conscious start-ups on the island of Ireland. The network will launch its new Impact Syndicate at its online All-Island Conference on Wednesday 2^nd February 2022.

Impact investing allows investors to drive positive and measurable social and environmental change alongside financial returns. In 2020, the global market reached up to $2.1 trillion in assets under management.

Members of HBAN’s Impact Syndicate will collectively invest €10M in Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) start-ups on the island of Ireland over the next three years. The syndicate will consider pitches from start-ups focusing on climate, agri-tech & food supply chain, energy, blue economy, health and cleantech.

The syndicate will be co-chaired by Faye Walsh Drouillard, the first female chair of a HBAN syndicate, and Mark Peters. Faye is an impact investor and along with Mark, is a co-founder of WakeUp Capital. Faye also founded The Giving Circle and is a board member of Philanthropy Ireland. Mark is also an active impact investor, as well as being Google’s Director of EMEA Partnerships.

Julian Seymour, Syndicates Manager, HBAN, said: “Investors and entrepreneurs alike want to make a meaningful impact. The global focus on ESG has created a market with almost boundless opportunities for growth and we want to help Irish businesses to be a part of that story.

“HBAN’s Impact Syndicate will help to drive ground-breaking ESG innovation across the island of Ireland by providing the funding and knowledge that socially-aware start-ups need to scale. This will be supported by our two chairs who have extensive experience in impact investing, and who have significantly contributed to the growth of impact investing here.

“Angel investing is hugely rewarding and I encourage anyone who is considering it to join us on February 2^nd to gain more insights into what is involved.”

Faye Walsh Drouillard, co-chair of HBAN impact syndicate, added: “Impact investing provides exciting financial potential for investors, while also enabling them to make a difference in the community and even the planet. I have been focused on impact investing throughout my investment career and I feel honoured to be contributing to its further growth by co-chairing the Impact Syndicate alongside my highly experienced and knowledgeable WakeUp Capital co-founder, Mark.

“I am passionate about supporting entrepreneurs to drive real social and environmental change, and impact investing is central to this. It also attracts a more diverse investor profile, which in turn facilitates investment in a more diverse range of companies. It is this diversity that will help us to solve real-world problems and build a better future for everyone.”

HBAN’s online conference will take place on Wednesday 2^nd February from 9:30am to 4:30pm and will have a focus on impact investing and demystifying angel investment, which it hopes will encourage existing and first-time angel investors to join the network and consider its Impact Syndicate.

Speakers at the conference will include Marcia Dawood, chair of the Angel Capital Association in the US; serial entrepreneur Norman Crowley, founder of Crowley Carbon; and Loretta McCarthy, whose investor consortium Golden Seeds backs early-stage female-led businesses in the US. The speakers will discuss the benefits of impact investing and break down the perceived barriers to angel investing to encourage more people to get involved.

See more Stories here.