Croatian and Slovenian researchers gain innovation support with €49 million in EIF-led financing
- EIF becomes cornerstone investor in first technology-transfer fund in Croatia and Slovenia with involvement of development banks HBOR and SID Banka
- Vesna Deep Tech Venture Fund secures €49 million for commercialisation of research projects and protection of intellectual property at universities and research institutions
- EIF provides €40 million to new fund, with other investors offering a combined €9 million
The Vesna Deep Tech Venture Fund, to which the EIF is pledging €40 million, is the first technology-transfer fund in the two countries. The EIF’s commitment stems from two separate investment programmes set up with Croatian development bank HBOR and its Slovenian counterpart, SID Banka, with private investors providing the remaining €9 million at the fund’s first closing today.
The Vesna Deep Tech Venture Fund will invest in technology transfer, the protection of intellectual property and the commercialisation of research projects at universities and research institutions in Croatia and Slovenia. It will be managed by locally based Vesna Venture Capital, which invests in breakthrough technologies. The new fund, which is named after the Slavic goddess of spring and renewal, will invest in up to 80 projects in Slovenia and Croatia, focusing on the “proof-of-concept” stage that could be commercialised and transformed into companies.
It will also help formulate a consistent intellectual property transfer framework with university offices responsible for commercialising research. As fund manager, Vesna VC will support scientific institutions in the two countries in increasing the use and commercialisation of research to levels closer to those in western Europe. This is a boost to cohesion, long-term sustainability, green development, job creation and competitiveness in the European Union.
The EIF selected Vesna VC as fund manager under the Central Eastern European Technology Transfer (CEETT) initiative, which aims to improve access to funding for universities and research institutions and boost innovation and scientific research in Slovenia and Croatia.
"The fund is a long-term solution for financing research projects and the protection of intellectual property at Slovenian and Croatian universities and research institutes and also, crucially, for financing technology transfer,” said EIF Chief Executive Marjut Falkstedt. “We are very proud of our contribution to the further advancement of scientific research in this region and thank our partners at SID Banka and HBOR as well as the private investors bringing significant additional resources to Vesna’s fund -- a reflection of the trust they are placing in this groundbreaking activity."
Sid Banka President of the Management Board and CEO, Borut Jamnik, said that the Vesna Deep Tech Venture Fund highlighted the value of CEETT and promised to bolster the Slovenian economy.
"The CEETT platform strengthens the relationship between research institutes, universities and the market, with the aim of successfully transferring as many innovative and research projects as possible to the market,” Jamnik said. “With this initiative, SID Banka is following its mission to accelerate the development of early-stage financing in Slovenia, helping the country to regain its position among strong EU innovators and to increase the competitiveness of the Slovenian economy."
Hrvoje Čuvalo, President of the Management Board of HBOR, said the new fund would help ensure that good research ideas made it out of the laboratory and into the market:
"We are providing Slovenian and Croatian scientists and the scientific and research community with financial resources that will encourage the further development of science, research and innovation,” Čuvalo said. “Many valuable patents and technological solutions never see their commercialisation precisely because of a lack of financial resources. In this way, we are creating a connection between the scientific community and entrepreneurship, which can ultimately be one of the key drivers of the growth and development of the overall economy."
The participation of investors beyond the EIF is deemed crucial for the fund to reach a critical mass and represents a significant sign of trust in the technology-transfer activity by the market.
Vesna VC consists of a group of diverse professionals with significant experience in fund investments and operations, along with focused expertise in company incubation, social impact and business angel investing. Over the years, the Vesna VC team has established a wide network of relationships with leading scientific centres in Slovenia and Croatia. It expects additional private capital, further increasing the fund’s size in the course of this year.
Background information
The European Investment Bank (EIB) Group is the financing arm of the European Union, owned by its member states. It supports sound investments that contribute to EU policy objectives.
Financing for Europe’s security and defence industry is among the EIB Group’s strategic priorities. We provide a comprehensive range of financial support and solutions designed to meet the demands of companies and public sector entities in the security and defence sector, regardless of their size. From reconnaissance and surveillance, spectrum protection and control, to cybersecurity solutions, infrastructure and military mobility, our financing solutions are designed to bolster projects that keep Europe safe, resilient and innovative.
The European Investment Fund (EIF) is part of the European Investment Bank Group. Its central mission is to support Europe's micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by helping them to access finance. The EIF designs and develops venture and growth capital, guarantees and microfinance instruments which specifically target this market segment. In this role, the EIF fosters EU objectives in support of innovation, research and development, entrepreneurship, growth and employment.
The Central Eastern European Technology Transfer (CEETT) initiative is EIF’s first multilateral equity investment programme focused on technology transfer. Launched in 2021 in partnership with Slovenia’s SID Banka and Croatia’s HBOR, CEETT is an extension of the SEGIP and CROGIP mandates managed by the EIF on behalf of the two national promotional institutions. Under these programmes, the EIF has invested in more than 10 equity funds and co-investments in the two countries over the past five years. The CEETT initiative builds on EIF’s track record of almost 20 years of investing in European technology transfer funds as well as setting up national programmes focused on this area in other EU member states, particularly Italy.