The ERP-EIF Facility is a partnership between the German Federal Government and the EIF, providing venture and growth capital financing with a focus on high-tech early and later stage companies in Germany.
The Facility has been mandated by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE, formerly BMWK, BMWi) on behalf of the German ERP Special Fund (ERP Sondervermögen) in 2004 and is managed by the EIF. Since its launch, the Facility has been increased subsequently on several occasions.
Achievements and focus
The current volume of the ERP-EIF Facility is up to €4.2 billion (plus € 0.4 billion co-invested alongside the GFF-EIF Growth Facility) funded by ERP Special Fund resources that are managed and complemented by the EIF. It has also covered co-investments alongside business angels (from 2012 until 2022) and investments in co-investment structures alongside VC funds (from 2016 until 2021).
The ERP-EIF Facility is a fund-of-funds and covers all technology areas including ICT, life sciences, energy related innovations, as well as emerging and converging technologies.
Commitments from the ERP-EIF Facility, often combined with other EIF mandates, aim to support the funding of portfolio companies based or active in Germany. Supported funds are, however, not restricted to investing solely in German companies, and a sizeable proportion of the ERP-EIF Facility is being invested through non-German fund managers, aiming to invest in the German venture capital market.
Insofar, the ERP-EIF Facility forms, with more than 5 000 SME investments in Germany and across Europe through supported funds, a very relevant part of the pan-European venture capital ecosystem.
Serving as a blueprint
The success of the ERP-EIF Facility speaks for itself: not only did this initiative help reignite the German VC ecosystem since 2004 and turn it into a leading one across Europe, but its model of developing and deploying local mandates to address specific gaps has been replicated at a regional level in Germany, and in other European markets.
How to apply?
If you are a financial intermediary or a fund manager and you are interested in receiving an investment from EIF under DFF, please get in touch with your existing EIF relationship manager.