Additional EU funds for Bavarian start-ups

• LfA and European Investment Fund expand their partnership.
• Venture capital fund of funds topped up to reach €250 million.

LfA Förderbank Bayern and the European Investment Fund (EIF) are further developing their successful cooperation for start-ups. The LfA-EIF Facility, a fund of funds aiming to improve financing conditions for innovative companies, will receive an additional €25 million from both LfA and the EIF, bringing its total to €250 million. This increases LfA's share to €125 million.

The fund was created on the initiative of the Bavarian Ministry of the Economy, LfA and the EIF, and has been investing in venture capital funds in Bavaria since 2009. The aim is to broaden the availability of venture capital for small and medium-sized technology companies in the state. So far, commitments have been made to over 40 funds with their registered office or a branch in Bavaria, with over 100 Bavarian companies already having received investments from LfA-EIF Facility Funds.

EIF Chief Executive Alain Godard commented: “The EIF is delighted to further expand its commitment to the LfA-EIF Facility supporting SMEs in Bavaria. This facility invests in venture capital funds to facilitate companies’ access to finance. Our commitment will continue to help promote the financing of businesses by new and existing fund managers.”

Bavarian Minister of the Economy and Chairman of LfA’s Administrative Board Hubert Aiwanger said: “The LfA-EIF Facility has enabled us to successfully support many Bavarian start-ups in recent years. For these companies, access to venture capital is especially key to addressing their initial financial challenges. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic makes it even more crucial to strengthen venture capital financing in Bavaria. LfA is therefore providing the right impetus by topping up this Bavarian-European fund of funds.”

Chairman of LfA’s Management Board Otto Beierl added: “Our partnership with the EIF to increase venture capital availability in Bavaria has been a great success. For every €1 the EIF has invested in the fund of funds, €13 in additional capital for Bavarian companies has been generated so far. This means that our funds flow back to Bavarian high-tech entrepreneurs many times over in the form of equity capital. We are now once again expanding our commitment to benefit Bavarian start-ups.” In these difficult times it is particularly important for the sustainability of our economy to provide effective support to entrepreneurs and businesses.”

Background information:

About the EIF:

The European Investment Fund (EIF) is part of the European Investment Bank Group. Its central mission is to support Europe’s micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by helping them to access finance. The EIF designs and develops venture and growth capital, guarantees and microfinance instruments tailor-made for specific customers. EIF financing fosters EU objectives in support of entrepreneurship, innovation, growth, employment and regional development.

About LfA:

Founded in 1951, LfA is the state-owned specialist promotional bank for small and medium-sized enterprises in Bavaria. In principle, promotional loans are applied for and granted via companies’ core banks. In addition to low-interest promotional loans, LfA takes on risk through sureties, indemnities and guarantees together with equity capital through LfA Group-associated companies (BayBG Bayerische Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH and Bayern Kapital GmbH). LfA also backs infrastructure projects to strengthen Bavaria's profile as a business location. In the 2019 financial year, LfA's total funding capacity for the Bavarian economy was around €2.58 billion. For more information on financing options, call the LfA advisory service on +49 89 / 21 24 - 10 00 

Contacts:

LfA Förderbank Bayern: Markus Wöhnl Tel. +49 89 21 24 - 22 26 - Fax: +49 89 21 24 - 17 22 26
Website: www.lfa.de  Press Office: presse@lfa.de   

EIB Group: Christof Roche, c.roche@eib.org, Tel.: +352 43 79 89013 / Mobile: +32 479 65 05 88
Website: www.eib.org/press - Press Office: +352 4379 21000 – press@eib.org - Follow us on Twitter @eif_eu