Europe boasts a wealth of talent, world-class researchers and skilled entrepreneurs, yet it struggles to turn that excellence into success stories. Consensus among experts is that access to risk capital for innovation plays a key role. The figures prove the point – in 2016 venture capitalists invested about €6.5 billion in the EU compared to €39.4 billion in the US.
To address the issue, the EU plans to pump €2.1 billion into Europe’s VC funds, with 20% of the amount being government funds and the remainder raised privately. The European Venture Capital Funds-of-Funds programme’s (VentureEU) goal is to boost investment in innovative start-ups on one hand and to scale up companies across Europe on the other. Responsible for the smooth execution and efficient allocation of the resource are several well-known industry names – IsomerCapital, Axon Partners Group, Aberdeen Standard Investments, LGT, Lombard Odier Asset Management and Schroder Adveq, which should commit by the end of 2018. The six will take stakes in a number of venture capital funds and cover projects in at least four European countries each. The venture funds are expected to reach around 1,500 small to mid-cap enterprises from a range of sectors, including information and communication technologies, digital, life sciences, medical technologies, and resource and energy efficiency.
