Joint EIF – Invest Europe study: The VC factor – Pandemic Edition

“The VC Factor – Pandemic edition” provides data-driven insights into European VC and its resilience to the COVID-19 crisis, the “black swan” event of 2020.

Thanks to the joint effort of the EIF and Invest Europe, the report first documents the recent growth of the European VC ecosystem following the global financial crisis and before the pandemic struck. The report looks at the geographic concentration of VC firms and start-ups, and identifies the major hotspots in Europe in terms of VC activity. Importantly, the study details how the different VC hotspots in Europe “communicate” (i.e., how money flows in and out of these) and the role of deeply interconnected VC hubs for the future prosperity of European VC.

“The VC Factor – Pandemic edition” also examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and related public health measures on the activity of the VC industry. By comparing VC activity in 2020 versus the historical average, as well as VC activity under lockdown versus no-lockdown conditions, the report reveals the newfound resilience of European venture capital. The VC industry’s activity did not show signs of “long COVID” and quickly bounced back from the measurable harm of the first wave of lockdowns across Europe.

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