ALBAN Global

Last month we were at SuperReturn in Berlin, and spent the weeks since sitting with the conversations, the impulses, the things that were said between the sessions and beyond the stages. Our latest article is where those reflections landed, here's where you'll find our observations. 6,000 decision-makers. 2,000 LPs. 3,000 GPs. A few things that stuck with us: → LPs are done rewarding storytelling. Positioning has to be backed by substance, or it doesn't land. → "DPI is the new IRR." Allocators are re-upping on realizations, not projections, and the pressure on GPs to show real distributions has never been higher. → Secondaries have gone from niche to infrastructure, and tokenization is quietly catching up behind them. Citi projects tokenized private equity could reach $700B by 2030. → The GPs worth watching aren't just deploying capital. They're building alongside founders, and folding their own LP networks into that support. Read the full field notes are on our site - link in the comments. Thank you to everyone who took the time to talk to us in Berlin, and to those contributing to this article; your input and perspective shaped this piece as much as anything we observed ourselves. We're looking forward to the next SuperReturn edition(s). Stephen Ashiotis Momina Nehmat Lee Granville Emily Porter Gilles BROPSOM Ertan Can Alexander Broekman Olivier Sciales Brent Christiaens Anamaria Meshkurti Cristina Vijoli David Borinstein Cristina Vijoli Tea Vrcic Iva Jankovic Payal Gupta (she/her) Viktoriia Savitska Denada Bare Rauch Emme Cecchini Fabian Claussen Stephen MacNamara Steven Mendel Sebastian Borek Simon Liang Adel Haddoud Aaron Knapik Borja Gumuzio Morenes Alvaro Fraguas Stanley Marchon 🦁 Jacqueline Kressner 🌍🌎🌏 Sushant Sharma Mayowa O. Julia Knox Ziaf Rehman #PrivateEquity #VentureCapital #SuperReturn #LPs #GPs

Last week we were back at GITEX AI EUROPE Europe as ecosystem partners, where we met and talked with founders, GPs, LPs and other ecosystem partners from accross the globe. This year, for the third time, our delegation included investors, fund managers, LPs, and founders and their presence made for valuable connections and conversations promising for more collaborations, deals and investments in the future. Compressed into two days, the program forced discipline: curated meetings, useful conversations, sharp matchmaking, and a double speed pitch event that reminded us why peer-to-peer energy beats any panel. Great connecting to so many passionate and dedicated founders, as well as visionary investor partners. A big kudos to the GITEX team for the organization and genuinely sharp matchmaking concierge and a big thank you to betahaus & Ecosystem Connectors | Berlin Sarajevo Tirana , and the city of #Berlin for continuing to show up as one of Europe's most dynamic and welcoming innovation hubs. We are proud to be ecosystem partners and already looking forward to the next editions. 🙌 👉Full article link in the comments. #GITEXEurope #GITEX #Berlin #Startups #VentureCapital #AngelInvesting #VCs #LPs #FamilyOffice #DeepTech #EcosystemBuilding #Matchmaking #Founders #StartupEcosystem #Innovation #Investment #AlbanGlobalNetwork #BerlinStartups #AlbanianFounders #SuperConnectors #EcosystemConnectors Anssi Uimonen Stanley Marchon 🦁 Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH Berlin Partner für Wirtschaft und Technologie GmbH Ecosystem Connectors | Berlin Sarajevo Tirana Superconnectors Iva Jankovic Jacqueline Kressner 🌍🌎🌏Alexander Broekman Mickael Borger Tom Devos Jihane Sadiq Brent Christiaens François De Witte Fulvia Nannini Anxhela Hajdari Christer Andersson Calum Mc Cabe Wolfgang Haupt Agata Leliwa Nowicka Alejandro Diaz Horstmann Dr. Kiziltan Yüceil Mariusz Gąsiewski Kal Petrov Tea Vrcic Jona Doda Anne Le Rolland Faye Freyschmidt

Last week, several members of the ALBAN Global network came together at WMF - We Make Future – in Bologna, one of Europe's leading innovation and AI gatherings. Under this year's theme, "Build What Matters," the summit brought together over 90 countries and served as a live testing ground for what's actually moving in agentic AI, space economy, and advanced robotics. Not theory. Deployment. For our attending founders and investors, the focus was clear: how quickly are deeply integrated AI architectures shifting from validation into enterprise-grade production? And where are the real cross-border opportunities hiding underneath the hype? The capital ecosystem at WMF speaks for itself: → $1.5 Trillion in cumulative portfolio value → $304 Billion in assets under management → $72.8 Billion in historical deal participation across 17,000+ investment rounds That's not background noise, that's the liquidity actively reshaping global deep-tech. On the ground, our member Shefqet Avdullau was grilling startups across two pitch sessions, including the main stage final competition — five startups, five countries, one stage. "WMF proved to be an exceptional hub for connecting serious builders with strategic capital — and I'm already looking forward to exploring an investment with a few of them." — Shef And great to see network member Leonard Burger in full swing at the VC & Startup stage and the ITA area, deep in conversations on GTM, cross-border innovation, and North-South tech corridors. 🚀 A huge congratulations to Cosmano Lombardo and the whole team for another exceptional edition. 👏 François De Witte Fulvia Nannini Brent Christiaens Anxhela Hajdari Francesco Cracolici Ermelinda Hajdari #WeAreFuture #WMF2025 #ALBANGlobal #DeepTech #AgenticAI #SpaceEconomy #VentureCapital #OpenInnovation #Bologna #ALBANGlobal #WMF2026 #WeMakeFuture #AngelInvesting #Startups #AI #Innovation #VentureCapital #DeepTech #BuildingWhatMatters

🌍 What an energising day at WomenINvestEU: Advancing Women in Investment in Europe, in Brussels today! Spending the day with investors, policymakers and ecosystem leaders, all focused on one thing: making investment in Europe more inclusive. A few highlights that stood out from the day: → Fundraising is a sales job, not a data exercise; you're convincing humans, not institutions. Emotion and genuine connection beats even data! → The first close is always the hardest. Momentum builds once you're past it. → Institutional capital often waits for private capital to move first, private money validates the raise. → Trust built years before a raise (through founder support, co-investing, track record) is what wins competitive rounds later. → The real bottleneck often isn't bias in approval — it's application. Only 8.6% of women entrepreneurs apply for financing vs. 13.6% of other entrepreneurs, even though approval odds are roughly equal once they do. Closing that gap by just 1% could unlock an estimated €775M in additional financing across the network. To conclude with an inspiring call-to-actoon from Jenny Tooth OBE to continue working together for real impact accross Europe. 🌍 At ALBAN Global Network, we believe capital becomes more inclusive when the right relationships are built deliberately between angels, family offices, LPs, and VCs, across borders and across ecosystems. That's the cascade we work in every day: support the right funds, help new funds get off the ground, connect the players who don't always talk to each other, and let that ripple outward. #WomenINvestEU #GenderLensInvesting #VentureCapital #ALBANGlobalNetwork ESIL Maive Rute Merete Clausen Clausen Bpifrance International Gilles Le Cocguen @BAE Business Angels Europe Jenny Tooth OBE Gurpreet Manku Kinga Stanislawska Agnieszka Wojdyr Carolina Turcato, PhD. Simone Brummelhuis Triin Linamagi 😃 David Fogel Florence Richardson Maria Koletsou Sara Anselmo Maria Neugschwender IRINA DINCA Marie Geneste Inez Murray Chantal Korteweg Anxhela Hajdari François De Witte Brent Christiaens Fulvia Nannini

🎙️ Join us on July 1st in Berlin during GITEX AI EUROPE - Europe's Leading Tech & AI Event, where the room does the talking! This Double Speed Pitch format gives both founders and investors 60 seconds each to pitch to the room: what you're building, investing in, looking for, or excited about. The goal is simple: create meaningful connections quickly and efficiently. Expect a relaxed atmosphere, drinks, curated networking, and a diverse mix of founders, investors, corporates, and ecosystem leaders attending GITEX Europe. 🗓️ July 1 · IHK Berlin working spaces - ST3AM 🍸 Drinks & networking included 🔗 Register through the link in the comments 🤝 In collaboration with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH Ecosystem Connectors | Berlin Sarajevo Tirana Iva Jankovic Brent Christiaens François De Witte Anxhela Hajdari Tea Vrcic Stanley Marchon Ermelinda Hajdari #GITEXEurope, Berlin.

ALBAN Global is connecting to international LPs, GPs and PEs this weekend! Funding the founders. Backing the funds. Building the bridges. #SuperReturn #AlternativeInvestments #VentureCapital #PrivateEquity #ALBANGlobal

🦅 Today, ALBAN Global joined high officials of the European Commission, EIC - European Innovation Council, Business Angels Europe, Bpifrance International and @eurQuity at the ESIL Annual Event: Business Angels and Deep Tech Teams in Brussels. The message was clear and timely: deep tech needs smart capital + ecosystem builders, angel researchers, and venture scientists not just funding. More angel syndicates, stronger research-founder-angel-funds bridges, and better alignment across EU instruments from lab to market. The European angel investing scene is evolving fast and collaboration is its engine. Key themes: → Innovation-driven research teams moving from science to market → Angels as mentors, connectors & catalysts beyond the cheque → EU, national & regional instruments aligning for the full deep tech journey As ALBAN Global, we've been doing exactly this, connecting capital cross-border, democratising access to private investment, and building bridges between founders, angels, family offices and funds across Europe, the Western Balkans, MENA and beyond. Grateful to share the room with Timo Hallantie Fredrik Winther Laurie Calvet Veronika Šedajová Stefano Buscaglia Jana Drzkova Claire Munck Riam Kanso Michel Behar Jenny Tooth OBE @Luis Carlo Busquets Pérez Sara Dagostini Maciej Zdanowicz Boryana Spasova Francesca Natali Viktorija Ruzelyte Reginald Vossen Gilles Le Cocguen Daniel Gassmann Luigi Amati Nuno Quental Jan Debets Philippe Rase The future of deep tech investment in Europe is being written — and we're here for it. 🚀 #DeepTech #AngelInvesting #EIC #ESIL #BusinessAngels #StartupEurope #ALBANGlobal #CrossBorderInvestment #VentureCapital #Innovation #EuropeanStartups

🌍 Amsterdam. European fintech, all in one room. Great to see the European fintech ecosystem coming together again, this time at the side event during Money20/20 Europe in Amsterdam. As ALBAN Global, we were proud to be part of an evening full of energy, ambitious conversations, and genuinely strong people building across fintech, investment, and innovation. Driven by the collaboration FINTECH BELGIUM, Holland Fintech Association , Fintech Latvia Association, ICEX, and FinTech Poland, it shows that with ambitious collaboration we push forward and upward. Not only the event with this 6th edition, but the community keeps growing year after year, not just in numbers, but in quality; a great example of what European fintech can feel like when it's done right. Big congratulations to Raf De Kimpe, and the entire team for bringing everyone together once again and creating such a great atmosphere, and looking forward to the 7th edition next year! Great connecting with Calypso Harland Gustavs Lapins Noam Perets Reinis Znotins Eva Narunovska Noam Perets Per Willem Pino Toon Vanagt Daniel Van Delft Jakob Saalfrank Jēkabs Groskaufmanis and others 🚀 If we met last night — let's follow up. Looking forward to the conversations and collaborations ahead. François De Witte Brent Christiaens Fulvia Nannini Anxhela Hajdari Leonard Burger Melis Guctas Gijs Hoppenbrouwers Ermelinda Hajdari Alessandra Guion - Gambrill #Money2020 #Fintech #Networking #Investors #Startups #ALBANGlobal #Amsterdam #EuropeanEcosystem #FinTechBE #DealFlow #Innovation #EuropeanFintech

🎉 Huge congratulations to D-CRBN on closing their €17.5M Series A! Proud to see D-CRBN, ALBAN Global member and proud Antwerp-born startup making waves on the European stage and beyond. D-CRBN is doing something truly remarkable: using electrified plasma technology to convert CO₂ and hydrocarbons into reusable circular carbon molecules. That's not just deep tech but a genuine shot at decarbonizing industries that desperately need it. This round, led by Astaia with continued support from SFPIM and the EIC - European Innovation Council Fund, will help the team transition from pilot validation to industrial scale-up. Big things ahead. To Gill Scheltjens, Georgi Trenchev, David Ziegler, Annemie Bogaerts, and the entire D-CRBN team, well deserved! You're proving that world-class deep tech can be built where great passion, dedication and drive resides #Antwerp To all the innovators out there: "Dream bigger. Dream better, and bolder." - Gill Scheltjens #DeepTech #Climatetech #Decarbonization #StartupEcosystem #ALBAN #SeriesA #DCRBN Brent Christiaens François De Witte Fulvia Nannini Heinz Brägger, MBA James S. Filip Van den Abeele Benny Manasherov Ariel C. Tal Catran Anamaria Meshkurti Aelbrecht Van Damme Gijs Hoppenbrouwers Gijs Grootenhuis Denada Bare Rauch Ludovica De Pieri

Calling international investors looking for curated investment opportunities and meaningful co-investment conversations. Next Tuesday, May 26th at 17:00 CET, we are bringing together a selected group of investors for our next Online Deal Table, a private session focused on high-potential startups currently raising across Europe and the US. The room will feature 6 curated companies across: 🌱 AgriTech AI 🧠 Sovereign AI infrastructure ⚡ Energy & grid technology 🌊 Marine surveillance AI 👜 Sustainable luxury materials 🔥 Climate deep-tech ~€14.5M in active fundraising Pre-seed to Series A Live founder Q&A + investor discussion What makes these sessions special is not only the startups, but also the investors in the room. The format is intentionally designed to encourage direct dialogue, co-investment conversations, and cross-border connections between investors who are actively deploying capital and looking at emerging technologies together. If you are an angel investor, VC, family office, syndicate lead, or strategic investor interested in discovering opportunities alongside other international investors, we would be happy to welcome you. Register below, and we'll share more info on the selected opportunities. 🗓️ 26 May — 17:00 CET 🔗 https://luma.com/zeuj5wvq Feel free to share this with fellow investors or partners who may be interested. #VentureCapital #Investing #AngelInvesting #FamilyOffice #Startups #DealFlow #CoInvestment #ClimateTech #AI #DeepTech Brent Christiaens Fulvia Nannini François De Witte Astghik Zakharyan Alexandra Santos Maura Mîndrilà Anamaria Meshkurti Filip Van den Abeele Ben P. Khaled Zaidan