Germany has no official league table of angel investors. The closest public recognition is the Business Angel of the Year award from Business Angels Deutschland (BAND), where only founders can nominate. Tobias Wittich won in 2025, Carsten Kraus in 2024 and Katja Ruhnke in 2023, and BAND named five finalists for 2026 in September.
That award tells you how founders rate their angels, not how the angels' returns look. Returns are private. What the public record does show is who founders credit, how large the German angel market is, and which state grant sits behind many first cheques.
Who are Germany's top angel investors?
BAND, the federal association of business angels, has given the title every year since 2001. Recent winners, as listed on BAND's Business Angel of the Year page: Tobias Wittich (2025), Carsten Kraus (2024), Katja Ruhnke (2023), Thomas Schmidt (2022), Matthias Helfrich (2021) and Nikolaus D. Bayer (2020). Three people from the recent lists have public profiles worth reading.
Carsten Kraus, the 2024 winner, is described by BAND as a serial founder, AI expert and angel investor. BAND's 2025 release lists him as CEO of CK Holding GmbH in Pforzheim.
Roland Fassauer is one of five 2026 finalists. CB Insights lists him as a Berlin-based angel investor and professor of product management at CODE University of Applied Sciences, with seven recorded investments as of October 2026. BAND's finalist post gives only his name and says his portfolio companies nominated him.
Tobias Wittich, the 2025 winner from Berlin, chairs the Business Angels Club Berlin-Brandenburg and co-founded the accelerator REAKTOR Berlin, according to BAND's announcement. It says he has no fixed sector focus and weighs the quality of the founding team. His investments include AIBeatz, Aury, Mimotype, detoxi Health, enamentis, FEMNA Health, Quouch and Cinepass.
The other four 2026 finalists, in alphabetical order, are Anna Fedulow, Martin Giese, Nina Kani and Patrick Knodel, per BAND's September 2026 post, which says portfolio companies nominated all five. The winner is announced at the German Business Angels Day in Hannover on 6 and 7 November 2026.
How does BAND choose the winner?
Nomination sits with founders. In 2025, 82 start-ups nominated 21 business angels, and a jury of angels, a law-firm partner, early-stage funders and industry figures picked the winner from eight finalists. For 2026 the jury is chaired by the federal economy minister.
That method rewards what founders value after the cheque. BAND's profile of Wittich, for example, stresses quick responses and help with contracts, team building, strategy and follow-on financing. It does not measure deal count or returns. If you want activity numbers, use the market data below and ask each angel for references.
How big is the German angel market?
EBAN's 2024 compendium puts Germany second in Europe. Its table shows 54 angel networks, 8,660 angels and 380 investments worth €162.26 million, down 18% from €198.47 million in 2023. EBAN notes that Germany, Italy and Denmark lead in rounds of up to €1 million. It counts only visible, reported deals, so the true total is higher.
BAND's own site counts, as of October 2026, 11,000 active business angels and 40-plus networks and clubs. Its 2025 leadership announcement cites an AddedVal.io study saying 74% of first financings of German start-ups come from angel investors.
What does the state add to an angel's cheque?
The federal INVEST programme, run by the Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control (BAFA), pays private investors a tax-free grant. Under the guideline dated 6 March 2024, the acquisition grant is 15% of the issue price of the shares, the exit grant is 25% of the gain on sale, and the minimum investment is €10,000. Caps are €100,000 of grants per investor and €50,000 per single investment. The guideline covers applications until 31 December 2026.
Conditions matter. The company must be younger than seven years, have fewer than 50 employees and not have raised more than €15 million of venture capital. The investor must hold the shares for at least three years, and follow-on investments in a company they already hold do not qualify.
How do founders reach German angels through BAND?
BAND's page for start-ups says angels fund early-stage companies, usually through an open equity stake paid from their own money, though a silent participation, a loan or a convertible loan is also possible. It lists what attracts them: an innovative idea with high growth potential, a clear differentiator, the ability to win market share, and a committed founding team that covers the core business tasks. Angels contribute time, experience and contacts as well as capital, and make money only when the stake is sold.
The route BAND describes for applications is its pitch page. Start-ups apply through the Dealum platform, which reaches more than 400 BAND-accredited angels and other members, such as seed funds, crowdfunding platforms and accelerators. BAND checks each application for plausibility, completeness and suitability before angels can see it, requires the founder to submit it, and asks for a complete business concept rather than a product idea. Outside about four events a year, such as the German Business Angels Day, BAND does not run matching events itself. Regional clubs are another route, and the Business Angels Club Berlin-Brandenburg that Wittich chairs is one example.
For neighbouring markets, see the Europe guide and the France guide. For general preparation, see the angel investing section, the walk-through on finding angel investors for your startup, and the data on how much angel investors invest.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q:Who was Germany's Business Angel of the Year in 2025?
Tobias Wittich from Berlin, honoured by BAND on 2 October 2025. Founders nominated 21 angels that year, and he beat seven other finalists.
Q:How much did German angels invest in 2024?
EBAN's 2024 compendium reports €162.26 million across 380 reported investments, an 18% fall from 2023. That is only the visible part of the market.
Q:Is there a government grant for angel investors in Germany?
Yes. INVEST, administered by BAFA, pays a tax-free acquisition grant and an exit grant to eligible private investors. Under the March 2024 guideline the rates are 15% and 25%, for applications until the end of 2026.
Q:How many business angels are there in Germany?
EBAN's table lists 8,660 angels in networks, while BAND reports 11,000 active angels. The gap comes from different definitions of who counts.