BGK and EIF invest €30 million in new Inovo fund under Future Tech Poland programme

• Fourth investment signed under the Future Tech Poland initiative managed by the EIF and backed by BGK
• €30 million commitment to new Inovo fund supporting early-stage technology companies
• PLN 580 million already allocated under Future Tech Poland
• Investment to strengthen Poland’s venture capital ecosystem and support innovative high-growth businesses

The European Investment Fund (EIF) and Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego (BGK) have invested €30 million (approximately PLN 129 million) in a new venture capital fund managed by Inovo.vc. This is the fourth investment backed by both institutions under their joint initiative, Future Tech Poland (FTP). To date, FTP has allocated around PLN 580 million.

Inovo.vc invests in early-stage technology companies. Future Tech Poland’s commitment to Inovo.vc’s new fund reflects its objective of supporting venture capital managers that back innovative, high-growth companies. The value of FTP’s investment in the new fund, including EIF’s co-investment, amounts to €30 million, or approximately PLN 129 million.

“Our investment in Inovo builds on that objective, supporting a proven team that helps ambitious technology companies grow from an early stage and develop solutions with the potential to compete across Europe and globally,” said Marjut Falkstedt, Chief Executive of the European Investment Fund.

“The investment in the fund managed by Inovo.vc is already the fourth transaction under the Future Tech Poland programme, which is one of the pillars of the Innovate Poland initiative. It also marks another step in the implementation of BGK’s investment strategy. Our goal is to systematically strengthen Poland’s competitiveness and consistently reinforce the domestic venture capital ecosystem, ensuring that institutional capital reaches the country’s most innovative companies. By the end of the year, we plan to achieve more than 40% of the total allocation of Future Tech Poland funds,” said Jarosław Dąbrowski, Member of the Management Board of BGK.

“Since 2014, Inovo.vc has backed the most ambitious founders building early-stage technology companies across Poland and Central and Eastern Europe — over that time we’ve supported more than 70 teams. We believe the next generation of global technology leaders will come from Poland and the region. Our role is to be their first institutional partner and support them on their way to becoming global leaders in their categories. We’re proud to pursue that mission together with BGK and the EIF through Future Tech Poland — their involvement genuinely matters for the development of this market,” said Tomasz Swieboda, Managing Partner, Inovo.vc.

Future Tech Poland is a joint initiative of BGK and the EIF and one of the pillars of the Innovate Poland programme. FTP operates as a fund-of-funds managed by the EIF, with a PLN 1bn allocation from BGK and a PLN 500m co-investment alongside the BGK allocation. The initiative aims to strengthen the Polish VC fund ecosystem, particularly by increasing the sizes of local funds, and to stimulate investment in Polish companies. Through its capital commitments, FTP supports innovation and growth in areas such as artificial intelligence, fintech, cybersecurity and defence technologies.

The European Investment Fund (EIF) is the subsidiary of the European Investment Bank Group specialised in providing guarantees and equity to improve access to finance for small and medium-sized businesses and startups across Europe. Acting as an anchor investor, through its extensive network of partnering banks and investment funds, the EIF mobilises private investment and nurtures the ecosystem of venture capital funds to support innovative European entrepreneurs.

In 2023, the EIF together with six EU member states (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands) launched the European Tech Champions Initiative, a fund-of-funds to scale up innovative startups. To date, this initiative has already enabled the creation of 14 European venture capital mega-funds and scaled up 40 companies, including 11 unicorns (with more than €1 billion in capital).

The EIF has invested €8 billion in Poland to date, helping leverage some €25.8 billion in support for over 119,000 SMEs.

About BGK

Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego (BGK) is Poland’s development bank, supporting the country’s sustainable socio-economic growth. BGK implements strategic infrastructure projects, fosters innovation, and supports the development of Polish businesses both domestically and internationally. The bank cooperates with the European Investment Fund on equity investments, including through the Polish Growth Fund of Funds (PGFF) and the Three Seas Initiative Innovation Fund, which continues the mission of PGFF.