Venture Capital in Belgium: European support for three Belgian Funds

The EIF has just announced its support for three funds operating in Belgium: E-Capital, FAGUS and Privast:

E-Capital is a fund of EUR 35 million in which the EIF has invested 21%. This fund has the highly novel feature (exemplary at European level) of being promoted by a group of 54 Walloon entrepreneurs ("business angels") who have formed a venture capital fund in order to invest jointly in start-ups in the fields of information technology, services, biotechnology and health. A number of institutional investors (Artesia Bank, AGF, Tractebel, Degroof Bank, Zurich Assurances, etc.) have joined the fund, boosting its financial capacity.

FAGUS is a venture capital fund established by the Fortis banking group. Its resources total EUR 28 million, split 55% - 45% between Fortis Private Equity and the EIF respectively. It will support businesses with high growth potential, which are also active in the information technology and life sciences sectors.

This fund is an excellent example of a public/private partnership and is above all the fruit of first-class co-operation between the Fortis and EIB Groups. This co-operation has been in existence for many years, during which Fortis Bank has been a prime intermediary for EIB activity in the Benelux countries.

PRIVAST is the most recent EIF operation in Belgium, signed at the end of October. This is a fund of EUR 15 million, in which the EIF's contribution amounts to 25%. Based in Antwerp, Privast's subscribers are a group of institutional investors (Winterthur, Banque Corluy, etc.), together with a group of private investors. Its aim is to underpin the creation of companies in the communications, information technology and internet sectors. Particular emphasis is expected to be given to the fields of E-commerce and business to business (b2b) as well as to the software industry. It should be mentioned that the EIF's investment in Privast has been funded from European Union budgetary resources, under the European Technology Facility administered by the EIF. This financial instrument is intended to back new funds of limited size, specialising in the finance of technological start-ups.

Overall, therefore, EUR 78 million will be invested by these three "Made in Belgium" new technology venture capital funds. The EIF's contribution amounts to more than EUR 23 million (around 30% of the total), a significant amount in itself and one which has also played a decisive role in triggering the establishment and launch of each of these funds, by providing them with a firm foundation and critical mass.

With these three new operations, there are now 5 Belgian venture capital funds supported by the EIF, as EUR 1.7 million had already been invested in "Capricorn Venture" (biotechnology and information technology) and EUR 7.4 million in IT Partners NV.

President Maystadt stressed that: "this series of investments was intended to provide bespoke financial backing for Belgium's technology sector which, a fact not sufficiently widely known, is one of the most dynamic in Europe." He added: "this contribution is yet another example of the EIB Group's significant efforts, both through loans and through the provision of venture capital by our specialised subsidiary the EIF, to give increased financial support to innovation in Europe. This action contributes to attaining the goals set in Lisbon in March 2000 by the Heads of State or Government of the 15 Member States, which are intended to make the Union, in ten years' time, the world's premier region for technology and innovation. This ambition is one that holds great promise for job creation and for the added influence of Europe, and we are unrelentlessly committed to achieving it".