The EIF which is specialised in risk financing for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across the European Union has made a cornerstone investment in UnternehmerTUM-Fonds (“UTUM”).

As one of the few privately financed Venture Capital (VC) funds in the seed and early stage segment in Europe, UTUM aims to provide start-up financing for companies in the Med-Tech, ICT and Cleantech sectors to support innovation and business creation. Located in Munich, the fund will primarily invest in Germany and in particular in Bavaria.

UTUM had a first closing at EUR 12m, including commitments from the ERP-EIF Dachfonds managed by EIF on behalf of the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi), the LfA-EIF Facility - a co-investment from the Bavarian Ministry of Economics, LfA Förderbank Bayern and EIF - and the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme managed by EIF on behalf of the European Commission.

Dr. Markus Schillo, Head of ERP-EIF Dachfonds, commented: "We are pleased to be given the opportunity to back a first time team which will have a significant impact in strengthening the undercapitalised seed and early stage sectors in Germany.”

The ERP-EIF Dachfonds invests in VC funds focusing mainly, but not exclusively, on German-based high-tech early stage companies. To date, some EUR 577m are committed in 22 funds which in turn have helped raise almost another EUR 2bn from private investors.

About the EIF

EIF's central mission is to support Europe's small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) by helping them to access finance. EIF designs and develops venture capital and guarantees instruments which specifically target this market segment. In this role, EIF fosters EU objectives in support of innovation, research and development, entrepreneurship, growth, and employment. The EIF total net commitments to private equity funds amounted to over EUR 5.4bn at end 2010. With investments in over 300 funds, the EIF is a leading player in European venture due to the scale and the scope of its investments, especially in high-tech and early-stage segments. The EIF commitment in guarantees totalled over EUR 14.7bn in close to 160 operations at end 2010, positioning it as a major European SME guarantees actor and a leading micro-finance guarantor.

About CIP

The Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP), which spans from 2007 to 2013, has been put in place to boost European productivity, innovation capacity and sustainable growth, whilst simultaneously addressing complementary environmental concerns.

Within the framework of the CIP, the European Investment Fund (EIF) has been allocated EUR 1.1bn to be split between venture capital – with the High Growth and Innovative SME Facility (GIF) - and guarantees – with the SME Guarantee Facility (SMEG).

Press contacts:

Joelle Harvey, Communications, j.harvey@eif.org
Susanne Gutjahr, Head of Communications, s.gutjahr@eif.org

Note: Following the recent withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union, we are updating the relevant EIF.org pages.

European Investment Fund – The European Investment Fund is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Sitemap - Contact webmaster