Fifty Women Angels Now Anchor Europe's Earliest Startup Capital

Jane Walerud wrote one of the earliest cheques into Klarna. She is one of 50 women business angels EU-Startups profiles in its 2025 ranking of the investors shaping European technology at its earliest, riskiest stage.

A 2025 report by the European Parliamentary Research Service identifies business angels as a major component of the EU's innovation ecosystem. The report's point is simple: while venture capital dominates funding conversations, angels supply the first capital, expertise and networks that most founders ever meet.

The list reads as a map of who actually funds pre-seed Europe. It mixes serial entrepreneurs, fund partners who still invest personally, and network builders who mobilise private capital for women-led companies.

Who are the most active investors on the list?

Portfolio depth varies widely, and the numbers tell the story.

• Raja Skogland (Norway, The Visionary Company & VC): more than 70 startups backed directly and indirectly, plus a board seat at the Norwegian Business Angel Network.
• Sherry Coutu (UK, Cambridge Angels founding member): a historical portfolio exceeding 50 investments.
• Cintia Mano (Portugal, COREangels partner, former CEO of COREangels International): more than 30 personal investments and Europe's Female Angel Investor of the Year in 2025.
• Rupa Popat (Arāya Ventures founder): more than 30 investments, including The Lowdown, Jude, Sojo and a 2026 stake in Sync Savings.
• Mary McKenna (AwakenAngels and AwakenHub co-founder): roughly 35 investments and the 2023 Female Angel Investor of the Year award.
• Vera Elizabeth Baker (4P Capital partner): more than 30 angel investments across European and North American ecosystems, including Juniper in 2024.
• Gloria Bäuerlein (Puzzle Ventures founder): more than 25 angel investments before moving into venture capital.
• Roberta Lucca (Bossa Studios co-founder, former Octopus Ventures Venture Partner): more than 20 startups backed, concentrated in technology, gaming and creative industries.
• Nina Dremelj (Vesna Deep Tech Venture Fund Managing Partner, President of Business Angels of Slovenia): more than 18 early-stage startups backed personally.

What does the award record show?

Europe's Female Angel Investor of the Year award runs through the list like a spine. Paola Bonomo (Vice Chair of Italian Angels for Growth, historical investor in AdEspresso) won in 2017. Mariana Bozesan, co-founder of sustainability-focused AQAL Capital, took it in 2019. Lurdes Gramaxo, Partner at Bynd Venture Capital and President of Investors Portugal, won in 2020. Simone Brummelhuis, Founding Partner of Borski Fund and founder of The Next Women, won in 2021. Katja Ruhnke won Germany's Business Angel of the Year in 2023 and chairs Business Angels Deutschland; her CK Venture Capital vehicle, run with her sister, holds Mediaire, Fabit, Carbonwave and fairafric. Annegien Blokpoel, founder of PerspeXo and the Catalyst Impact Investment Club, won Europe's award in 2024.

Which 2026 deals carry individual angel names?

The newest deals show these angels still writing cheques into 2026, a year when many institutional funds have pulled back from pre-seed.

• Andrea Sinclair (HERmesa syndicate member, Venture Partner at Ascension) was named in women's health startup PeriPear's 2026 pre-seed round.
• Céline Lazorthes, founder of Leetchi, the FinTech business behind Mangopay, backed HealthTech startups Lucis and DermaScan in 2026.
• Laura Modiano, who works with the EMEA startup ecosystem at OpenAI, was named among investors in AI writing startup Marker's 2026 seed round.
• Lea-Sophie Cramer, AMORELIE co-founder, was named an investor in robotics startup Sitegeist's 2026 round — as was Verena Pausder, Chair of the German Startup Association.
• Maria Raga, Venture Partner at Creandum and former Depop CEO, was named among investors in eComID and District during 2026.
• Sophia Bendz, Partner at Cherry Ventures, was named an angel in Scape's 2026 seed round.
• Louise Herping Ellegaard, Danish founder of Clio Online and a fixture on the TV programme Løvens Hule, put DKK 1 million into mental health education business Psykoterapeutterne in 2026.
• Rupa Popat was named among investors in Sync Savings during 2026.

Who else made the list?

The remaining names span operators, fund partners and network builders.

Ana Barjasic founded Connectology and serves as an European Innovation Council ambassador, connecting founders with international capital. Bettine Schmitz and Gesa Miczaika together run Auxxo Female Catalyst Fund and back women-led and mixed-gender teams; Schmitz also co-founded the Evangelistas network, and Miczaika's personal deals include Lilio Health. Christina Caljé (TINTT founder) holds a historical portfolio of Lalaland, Newcon and Lucky Sweater.

Constanze Buchheim (i-potentials) previously invested in Delivery Hero and Empion. Debbie Wosskow, co-chair of the Invest in Women Taskforce, co-founded WJV, chairs The Better Menopause and backed Hybr. Deepali Nangia, Speedinvest Partner and Alma Angels co-founder, personally holds PensionBee and Planera. Emilie Dellecker co-founded FoodHack, HackGroup and HackCapital and was named among angels in Bright Biotech's 2022 round. Fiona Pathiraja, a former NHS doctor, runs Crista Galli Ventures and backed Skin Analytics and Jude.

Georgie Smallwood, Chief Product and Technology Officer at Moonpig Group, backed LiSA through her firm Auxilia Global. Helen Oldham co-founded Lifted Ventures and holds Future Greens and BindEthics. Helena Torras (PaoCapital) invested in Abiquo, Marfeel and TeamEQ. Ilinca Paun founded Bravva Angels and holds Flip, Bright Spaces, Unfrosen and Spark School. Itxaso del Palacio, General Partner at Notion Capital, previously backed BridgeU, Trouva and Leaf.fm.

Janneke Niessen founds and funds through CapitalT. Jessica Holzbach, Penta co-founder and CEO Germany at 0TO9, invested personally as recently as 2024 in FinTech, AI and DeepTech. June Angelides, Venture Partner at Samos Investments and founder of Levare Ventures, holds Sojo and By Rotation. Kerstin Bock (Openers CEO) backed Levy Health, Ordinary Seafood and The Climate Choice. Lina Chong invests at HV Capital and previously backed Odin.

Melanie Gabriel co-directs the ETH AI Center, co-founded Yokoy and sits on the board of Swiss network SICTIC. Rachel Delacour runs Sweep and backs women-led startups personally. Sarah Turner leads Angel Academe, mobilising private capital for female-founded technology companies. Sarah Wood, Unruly's former CEO, supports technology and wellbeing businesses through investment and board roles. Selma Prodanovic founded 1MillionStartups in Austria and supported female angel investing through Rising Tide Europe. Triin Hertmann, President of the Estonian Founders Society and Grünfin's former co-founder, reported five new and two follow-on investments in 2025, including MarkeDroid, Supersimple, Knowzilla, Elnora and Yaga. Yvonne Bajela (Evertrue Capital) holds Sojo, Jumba and LottieLabs.

What does the list signal for European founders?

The pattern matters more than any single name: the investors writing Europe's first cheques increasingly combine personal capital with institutional platforms, from OpenAI and Speedinvest to Cherry Ventures and HV Capital. For pre-seed founders raising in 2026, this cohort is a working directory of who picks up the phone first.