Abstract Financing is a critical issue for the survival and development of small and medium‐sized enterprises. Business angels play a key role in financing these enterprises, especially innovative ones with high growth potential. Business angels fill the gap between founders, family, and friends on one side, and institutional venture capital funds on the other side, as a financing source. Business angels invest a large amount of money in seed, start‐up, and early‐stage enterprises. Business angels are important for small and medium‐sized enterprises because they provide more than money. They are hands‐on investors and contribute their skills, expertise, knowledge, and contacts in the businesses they invest in. They are wealthy persons with great business experience, willing to invest and offer their wealth and knowledge to owners and to entrepreneurs to start or develop their businesses. Business angels like to remain anonymous, so many ideas cannot be implemented. To address this issue, many countries establish business angel syndicates and networks to facilitate the process of matching entrepreneurs and business angels. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.