Brussels, (EFE).- Spain will contribute 1,000 million euros to a fund to invest in emerging European technology companies that are in the expansion phase, to which Germany, France, Italy and Belgium have joined and which will be managed by the Bank European Investment Bank (EIB).
The fund will start rolling with an amount of 3,750 million euros contributed by these five countries and the EIB that will be used to invest in different venture capital funds, which in turn will channel the financing for what they have baptized as “European technological champions”. ».
capital injection
“The initiative will provide the most innovative ‘start-ups’ with the capital they need to develop and lead the business ecosystem globally,” said Vice President and Minister of Economic Affairs, Nadia Calviño, who formalized the agreement with her counterparts from participating countries on the sidelines of the Eurogroup meeting in Brussels.
The objective of the fund is to cover the financing gap with venture capital for emerging companies that are in the growth phase, particularly those that need to raise more than 50 million euros in financing, the EIB explained in a statement.
‘European tech start-ups often do not have enough capital to compete on a global scale and are pushed to move abroad. Closing this expansion hole could create a large number of highly-skilled jobs and boost growth,” the institution said.
The Government of Spain has already approved an initial contribution of 400 million euros for the new fund and, in a second phase, will increase the contribution committed this year to 1,000 million, according to the Ministry of Economy.
Development of innovative digital projects
The Spanish contribution will be made through the Next Tech fund, an initiative of the recovery plan aimed at promoting the development of innovative digital projects and investment in growing companies (‘scale-ups’) by strengthening public financing instruments , the attraction of international funds and the promotion of the venture capital sector.
In addition to Spain, Germany and France have also committed 1,000 million euros each, while Italy will contribute 150 million euros and Belgium 100 million during the initial subscription period, while the EIB will deploy 500 million, which adds up to Initial 3,750 million euros, although the signatories expect the volume to increase over time.
“Offering support to innovative European firms in their late development phase, when they want to expand their business, is essential to safeguard Europe’s strategic autonomy,” said EIB President Werner Hoyer.
Between 2021 and 2022, more than 280 European technology companies from different sectors raised more than €100 million in large financing rounds, but 67% of these funds came from non-European investors.