Fintech start-ups in Europe to get up to €1.6bn in funding from EIF
Money for European fintech start-ups, but what about the UK?
The European Commission (EC) has pledged up to €400 million to the European Investment Fund’s (EIF) new fund-of-funds – for the money to be spent on start-ups in Europe, including in the fintech space.
The EC has also said it would look for three times more investment from institutional investors to make up to €1.6 billion available to boost the start-up scene and compete with Silicon Valley.
Speaking at the recent Web Summit in Lisbon, Carlos Moedas, the EU commissioner for research, science and innovation, observed that “there’s far less venture capital in Europe than in the US, and funds don’t have the scale or geographic scope to grow companies from early stage to mid-cap and from mid-cap to global players”.
In the UK, Balderton, Atomico, Northzone, Mayfair, and Scottish Equity Partners are among those with existing funding from the EIF. Scottish Equity Partners has recently announced its own £260 million fund.
It is yet unclear how Brexit will impact on the terms of access to the EIF. At present, its funds account for over a third (37%) of all money raised by start-ups in the UK in 2011-2015.
