European Investment Fund commits €30M to Indico Capital Partners new €125M VC Fund to Drive Tech Innovation in Portugal, Spain and Italy

• Indico VC Fund III will target early-stage companies developing enterprise SaaS, AI, and deep-tech solutions, as well as those operating in spacetech and oceantech.
• European Investment Fund (EIF) acts as anchor investor reflecting its commitment to support European technology champions.

Lisbon: The European Investment Fund (EIF), the arm of the European Investment Bank Group (EIB Group) specialised in equity investments in small and medium firms (SMEs) and mid-caps, has invested €30 million in the technology fund Indico VC Fund III. The fund has a target size of €125 million and is managed by Portugues fund manager Indico Capital Partners.

Indico VC Fund III will primarily focus its investment strategy on innovative technology companies built in Portugal, Spain, and Italy, while also actively seeking opportunities with companies from these countries currently located in the US, UK and elsewhere. The fund will concentrate on investments ranging from Seed to Series B, specifically targeting companies developing enterprise SaaS, AI, and Deep Tech solutions, as well as those in spacetech and oceantech.

Marjut Falkstedt, EIF Chief Executive said: “We are excited to join forces with Indico Capital Partners to support the vibrant ecosystem of technological innovators in Portugal, Spain and Italy. Through this operation the EIF will support equity investments in companies that are making a difference in AI, deep tech and blue economy.”

Stephan de Moraes, Managing General Partner at Indico, said: "We are incredibly proud to launch the third generation of Indico funds, with Indico VC Fund III. Securing the anchor commitment from the EIF, a major investor in some of our previous funds, shows strong institutional support for Indico’s strategy of backing world-class teams creating global category winners and is a strong validation of our track record and strategy to focus on Enterprise SaaS, AI, and Deep Tech across Southern Europe and its diaspora. We are strategically positioned to identify and scale the best global companies, leveraging the region's top talent and bringing them into the international capital spotlight. We believe that by providing smart capital and hands-on support, we are truly shaping the next wave of European technological leadership with a global scale."

Indico Capital Partners currently manages over €240 million in Assets Under Management (AuM) across five funds and has supported 53 companies that together have raised more than €2.5 billion. The firm has contributed to the growth of several leading technology businesses in Southern Europe, including four unicorns through its previous funds.

This EIF investment supports the EIB Group’s core strategic priority of technological innovation and digitalization as set out in the EIB Group 2024-2027 Strategic Roadmap. The operation is backed by InvestEU, an EU programme aiming to unlock over €372 billion in investment by 2027 and by Portugal Blue,the programme to foster the Portuguese blue economy ecosystem by providing equity capital funding to start-ups, SMEs and midcaps.

Background information

About the European Investment Fund

The EIF is part of the EIB Group. Its central mission is to support Europe’s microenterprises and SMEs by helping them access finance. The EIF designs and develops venture and growth capital, guarantees and microfinance instruments that specifically target this market segment. In this role, it contributes to the achievement of key EU policy goals such as competitiveness and growth, innovation and digitalisation, social impact, skills and human capital, climate action and environmental sustainability.

About InvestEU

The InvestEU programme provides the European Union with crucial long-term funding by mobilising substantial private and public funds in support of a sustainable recovery. It also helps mobilise private investment for EU policy priorities, such as the European Green Deal and the digital transition. InvestEU brings together under one roof the multitude of EU financial instruments available to support investment in the European Union, making funding for investment projects in Europe simpler, more efficient and more flexible. The programme consists of three components: the InvestEU Fund, the InvestEU Advisory Hub and the InvestEU Portal. The InvestEU Fund is implemented through financial partners that invest in projects, leveraging on the EU budget guarantee of €26.2 billion. The entire budget guarantee will back the investment projects of the implementing partners, increasing their risk-bearing capacity and mobilising at least €372 billion in additional investment.

About Indico Capital Partners

Indico Capital Partners is a leading independent Venture Capital fund manager based in Portugal, investing in Southern European related global and sustainable technology companies. Indico funds invest in deep tech, software as a service, marketplaces, artificial intelligence, space tech, fintech, cybersecurity and ocean related companies. Indico´s range of investments goes, mostly, from Seed to Series B (500k and 10M euros) in Portuguese, Spanish and Italian related startups. Indico mostly leads and co-leads the rounds in which it participates and is extremely often a very hands-on investor with its portfolio companies.

The Indico team, currently consisting of 14 professionals, works with companies in talent acquisition, product roadmap, sales and marketing strategies and introductions, M&A projects and strategic financing in new investment rounds. Since 2019, Indico has invested more than 123 million euros in 53 companies, which have raised more than 2.5 billion euros from global investors. www.indicocapital.com

Press contacts

EIF

Maite Cordero: m.corderomunoz@eib.org | Tel.: +34 606 66 82 62

Website: www.eif.org | Press Office: +352 4379 21000 | press@eib.org

X: @eif_eu 

Indico Capital Partners

Maria Amaral: maria@indicocapital.com  | Tel.: +351 938912514

Website: www.indicocapital.com | press@indicocapital.com