EQUIFUND II: 200 million euros to finance the new Equity Fund
The Invitation for Expression of Interest has been announced for the announcement of the Intermediary Financing Agencies of the new Equity Fund EquiFund II, with a relevant posting on the European Investment Fund (EIF).
It was preceded on May 14, by the official presentation of the Fund by the Deputy Minister of National Economy and Finance, Nikos Papathanasis, the vice-president of the European Investment Bank (EIB) group, Ioannis Tsakiris, and the managing director of the EIB, Marjut Falkstedt.
The EquiFund II is a Capital Fund of €200 million, which aims to support innovative enterprises active in two promising sectors of the economy:
a) in Life Sciences and Health and
b) in Sustainability and Social Impact
These businesses will be supported in order to obtain better access to financing with own funds and to become more competitive, making full use of their development potential.
EquiFund II will support new and/or existing fund management teams, while also aiming to fill the funding gap identified in sectors with promising growth prospects, but with relatively few domestic funding options. The Fund will include investments in all stages of development of a business (pre-seed, seed and early stage) up to development investments. The result expected from the operation of the Fund is the support of the entire investment spectrum and the venture capital and private equity ecosystem, depending on the needs of the market.
EquiFund II will invest in funds managed by Intermediary Financial Organizations (IFO), which will be selected according to the standard procedures of the European Investment Fund (EIF) and through the relevant Call for Expression of Interest. It should be noted that EquiFund II does not invest directly in businesses. Investments in portfolio companies will be made through the selected Intermediary Financial Institutions (IFI).
The financial tool EquiFund II is a Act of Strategic Importance of the Competitiveness Program of the NSRF 2021-2027 and is co-financed by the European Union.
The European Investment Fund will select the EXOs through the relevant application and evaluation process. The deadline for submitting applications is set to September 30, 2024 (date of receipt of e-mail from the EIF).
Requests and clarifying questions should be sent exclusively via email to the EquiFund II team at e-mail: equifundii@eif.org
See the relevant announcement on the website of the European Investment Fund