(Finance) – The European Investment Bank Group (European Investment Bank and European Investment Fund) And five EU Member States – Spain, Germany, France, Italy and Belgium – they inaugurated the European Tech Champions Initiative (ETCI – European Tech Champions Initiative), a fund of funds which will convey to promisingEurope’s innovative companies get much-needed growth capital at the advanced stages of their development.
According to the promoters’ intentions, The initiative will help fill the funding gaps currently forcing Europe’s most promising innovative start-ups to turn to non-European capital.
Through ETCI – which is the flagship of the pan-European Scale-Up initiative presented in February 2022 by France and Germany – participating Member States and the EIB Group will pool their public resources to make substantial investments in large venture capital funds, which in turn will provide growth finance to European technology excellence.
“Providing financial support to innovative European companies that are at an advanced stage of development when they intend to expand their activities is essential to safeguard the strategic autonomy of the European Union. Europe has strong innovative companies, but it needs to improve the environment for companies to make the transition from start-up status to credible competitor and market leader. With the European Tech Champions Initiative we want to demonstrate our commitment to funding innovation and disseminating those technologies that will help ensure a sustainable future for Europe,” said Werner Hoyer, President of the EIB Group.
Managed by the European Investment Fund, the initiative ETCI secured commitments from Spain, Germany, France, Italy and Belgium for a total amount of €3.25 billion during the initial 18-month subscription period. For its part, the EIB Group has allocated a further 500 million euros, bringing the total amount to 3.75 billion euros. An increase in the size of the fund and further commitments from as many Member States are foreseen in the future.
“Innovative companies must be able to find the capital they need here in Europe. The European Investment Fund, as manager of the European Tech Champions Initiative, will leverage its scale and expertise to cultivate a sustainable ecosystem suitable for late-stage business development and capable of fostering internal innovation,” he said. Marjut Falkstedt, Chief Executive of the EIF.
Italy contributed 150 million euros to the initiative: “We share this initiative in which Europe works in synergy to mobilize public and private capital to support the growth of future champions of digital innovation. The hope is that Italy, which has always been one of the main partners of the EIF, will be able to draw from this project the right impulse for the development of this business sector”, commented the Minister of Economy Giancarlo Giorgetti.
“Italy believes in the capabilities of high-tech start-ups and in the need to support them growth on world markets. This is why we have invested 150 million in the European Technological Champions Initiative: the Fund promotes a capital market to help startups consolidate and grow while maintaining their relationship with Europe over time”. in Italy, Adolfo Urso. “It is an important step in building a stronger European industry, with greater strategic autonomy. And this is the direction we must take in the next few years”, added Urso. According to the minister, “it is a step that responds directly to the needs of the Italian market. The vitality of startups in our country in recent years must be supported. We must help our companies to face the next phase of growth and eventual listing on the markets. The European initiative goes in this direction: to create a venture capital ecosystem capable of consolidate the growth of European companies and make them increasingly competitive on international markets”.
The “fund of funds” launched by the EIB with 5 EU countries in support of the Tech Champions comes while “our common responses at European level are once again called into question” by global competition. “And this initiative is an example of how a common response can be targeted, strong and, I hope, gradually involve others, all EU member states. To be part of the response that is needed in this challenge. So welcome to the fund of funds and to the EU unicorns”. This was stated by the European Commissioner for the Economy, Paolo Gentiloni in the signing ceremony of the agreements for the creation of the ETCI (European Tech Champions Initiative)