Jana Saastamoinen has been appointed CEO of the Estonian Business Angels Network (EstBAN). For more than two years she has served as the head organizer of Estonia’s largest business festival sTARTUp Day and has been closely involved with organizations and people supporting startups.
“The EstBAN board expects the new CEO to make a strong contribution to the development of Estonia’s largest angel investor network and to expand its international reach,” said EstBAN President Lauri Antalainen.
Saastamoinen has previously worked mainly in project and marketing management roles. She will start leading EstBAN’s activities full time in February 2026. In her new role she aims to support angel investors and keep the foundations of Estonia’s startup sector strong.
“I have spent more than five years in different roles advancing high-growth companies and I am honored to continue doing that at EstBAN. Every day I see the drive of early-stage startups and the impact angel investors have on their journey not only through capital but also through advice and networks.”
Until the end of January Saastamoinen will continue contributing to the organization of the tenth sTARTUp Day. “sTARTUp Day has taught me how to coordinate large projects efficiently and bring different stakeholders together around one goal. I will bring all that knowledge and skill to EstBAN to amplify the impact of our community.”
According to outgoing CEO Karin Künnapas, angel investors play a crucial role in the first stages of startup growth. “Without angel investors, some successors to companies like Bolt and Wise would stall at the start. Angels are often the first to back new projects with their own money and to believe in what may seem impossible. When things go well, the investment can be returned several to many times over,” said Künnapas.
“EstBAN has an important role in Estonia’s startup ecosystem by supporting investors’ local and international networking, running programs that educate early-stage investors, and bringing startups and investors together. If we did not do this, it would be difficult to start as an angel investor in Estonia,” Künnapas added.
EstBAN was founded in 2012 by a couple of dozen private investors who wanted to create joint investment opportunities and support startups in a systematic way. Since 2017 more than twenty syndicate investments have been created with EstBAN’s lead and there have been four successful exits to date. Angels also invest independently, totaling more than 15 million euros last year.
EstBAN members are typically entrepreneurs, founders and experienced investors with diversified portfolios who want to contribute their time, expertise and capital to the growth of Estonia’s new economy. As of last year EstBAN had 260 members, more than half of whom made at least one startup investment during the year.
Karin Künnapas will remain in office until the beginning of January 2026.
