Vicky Brock wins Golden Aurora Award as Europe’s leading female business angel

Vicky Brock, Golden Aurora Award 2026 Winner and Reginald Vossen, BAE President and President of the Jury

During the SIM Conference 2026 in Porto, Portugal, on May 14^th, Business Angels Europe (BAE) proudly announced Vicky Brock as the winner of the Golden Aurora Award 2026, recognising her as Europe’s most influential female business angel.

Business Angels Europe annually organises the Golden Aurora Award for best female angel investor of the year, aligning with the broader goals of Europe’s sustainable and inclusive innovation agenda. It also complements the recent and current female angel and entrepreneurship projects BAE is involved in: Empowomen, WomenInvestEU, and ESIL2.

This year’s award ceremony, hosted by last year’s winner Cíntia Mano, took place at the SIM Conference—one of Portugal’s flagship startup and investment events—and was proudly delivered with the support of Startup Portugal and BAE member Investors Portugal, in front of leading investors, startup founders, ecosystem leaders, and innovation stakeholders from across Europe.

Since 2018, the Golden Aurora Award has celebrated outstanding female business angels who are shaping the future of innovation, entrepreneurship, and impact investing across Europe. By recognising female investors who actively support startups through capital, expertise and networks, the award sends a strong message: Europe’s innovation future must be built by diverse investors with diverse perspectives.

The 2026 nominees and winner

This year’s nominees represent a diverse and influential group of investors who are actively shaping the future of entrepreneurship and play a key role in supporting the next generation of founders across Europe. 

After a competitive selection process, the jury selected Vicky Brock (Estonia/UK) as the winner of the Golden Aurora Award 2026, recognising her for her exceptional contribution to the ecosystem and her role in supporting the next generation of European entrepreneurs.

“The jury selected Vicky as the recipient of the Golden Aurora Award 2026 for her outstanding hands-on contribution to founders and the broader innovation ecosystem. She consistently goes beyond capital, offering deep, practical support in – for Europe very critical - areas such as AI, privacy, cybersecurity, and responsible innovation—fields that are increasingly core to building resilient companies.

Vicky is a passionate advocate for women founders and an emerging generation of women angels, deliberately backing diverse teams and actively investing her time into mentorship and community building. Whether as a technical due diligence specialist, a former founder multiple times over, or through her role with Estonia’s e-Residency program, she brings both rigor and generosity to everything she does.

While she is still early in her angel investing journey, her track record already reflects strong signals—thoughtful investments, positive exits, and a clear value-add to every founder she supports. The jury recognizes not only her achievements to date, but also her exceptional long-term potential and her meaningful contribution to shaping a more inclusive and responsible innovation ecosystem. As BAE Golden Aurora 2026, she’s a role model to many women angels.”, says Reginald Vossen, BAE President and President of the Jury

Reflections from last year’s winner, Cintia Mano

2025 winner Cintia Mano (Portugal) reflected on the importance of recognition for female investors:

“Winning the Golden Aurora Award last year was both an honour and a responsibility. It gave visibility not only to my own journey, but also to the broader role women play in supporting entrepreneurs and building stronger innovation ecosystems. Europe needs more women writing cheques, backing ambitious founders and helping shape the next generation of startups.”

Words from the 2026 winner, Vicky Brock - National Nominee for UK & Estonia

“A core belief behind my investing is that visibility and participation matter. Angel investing should not feel reserved for a narrow stereotype: you don’t need to be massively wealthy to contribute meaningfully. That’s why I am glad to receive the Golden Aurora 2026, and I take on the honour and the responsibility of being BAE Ambassador for female angel investing in Europe. In this role, I will keep strengthening and advocating for more diverse, inclusive and sustainable innovation ecosystems—helping women founders raise early capital and helping more women discover angel investing can start with a small cheque, meaningful involvement, and real reward”.