Trends in the development of investments from business angels in Europe and Bulgaria

Investments by business angels represent a relatively new approach to financing businesses in the initial phase of their development. The size of the market in Europe has been on the rise in recent years, reaching 8.04 billion. Thus, funding through business angels is becoming an important part of the tools that SMEs can use. A relatively small share of this amount is invested in Bulgaria, while some of the traditionally largest recipients of business angel investments are positioned in Europe. This gives rise to the goal of identifying trends in the development of the investment market by business angels in Europe and Bulgaria. More in-depth knowledge in this area will help to form steps for further development. Comparative, historical, logical and analytical methods were used to fulfill the objectives of the study. The author concludes that the key role is played by the individual characteristics of the business angels, as well as the characteristics of the sectors. The propensity to invest in technological and innovative enterprises is favorable for Bulgaria due to the development of the ICT sector of the country. Concrete steps are also needed to support through incentives and regulations.