Funding news - 19/06/2012
New €350 Million Investment Scheme for Business Innovation Launched
The newly-launched Early Stage Technology Fund is designed to invest in the development of disruptive technology companies through the provision of venture capital finance.
The Fund provider, Index Ventures, highlights the following five key areas that the new scheme will be targeting:
- Commerce (especially fashion)
- Marketplaces
- Cloud computing and 'big data'
- Mobile and social
- Financial services
The Fund has a total investment pot of €350 million (approximately £284 million). Individual investments are likely to range from €250,000 to €50 million (approximately £200,000 to £40 million).
The investment is used to accelerate the growth of companies and, in some cases, to provide shareholders with cash.
Seed and early-stage start-up and growing technology companies may apply. The scheme is open to those located throughout the UK and Ireland as well as those operating across Europe and Israel. Index Ventures will invest in all sectors, although its primary focus is on investing in technology and life sciences. The sponsor is also interested in opportunities in green technology.
Saul Klein, partner at Index Ventures, believes that early-stage investment in promising ideas is critical for fuelling the economic recovery, and that Europe has much potential to produce world-beating start-ups.
Speaking about the launch of the new scheme, Mr Klein said:
"Providing the building blocks for start-ups, in the form of mentorship and financing, inevitably leads to job creation. In our portfolio alone, there are currently over 1,000 open positions.
"We continue to believe that Europe will be fertile ground to discover and help develop world-beating innovations."
There are no stated deadlines; therefore applications for support may be submitted at any time.
Click here for more details (opens in new window).
Source: indexventures.com, 18/06/2012