Catalyst Romania, one of the most active venture capital investors in Romanian technological companies, announced yesterday the deployment of a venture capital fund with a target size between 40 and 50 million euros, intended for technology, media and telecommunications startups. The Catalyst Romania Fund II is the result of the collaboration between Catalyst Romania, the European Investment Fund and more than 30 private investors. “We have personally known the Romania catalyst team for some time and we have been impressed by their existing portfolio and their positive involvement in the local entrepreneurial ecosystem over the years. It is great to see their realization to be the first team that manages to collect a second venture capital fund in our country, and we are happy to be part of it, “said Adrian Mihai, partner Fan Courier, one of the private investors.
The fund in perspective
Catalyst Romania Fund II is a continuation of the Roumania Fund I catalyst, which was mainly funded by The initiative of Jeremie Romania. The first fund has invested 12 million euros in 10 Romanian technological companies, among which are Elefant.ro, Vola.ro, Vector Watch, Lawyer.Ro, Smartbill, Greenhorse Games and Omniconvert. The Fund I catalyst has two outings and, according to Catalyst Romania, will have three others. Over the next two years, he will disinvest his portfolio through announcements on local scholarships, especially The Bucharest Stock Exchange. Catalyst Roumania Fund II continues tradition by investing in technological startups. The requirements for companies are to have a range of products launched on their target market and an experienced management team. For the moment, Catalyst Romania plans to invest between 1 million euros and 3 million euros in 16 Romanian companies to support their international expansion plans. The venture capital is also proud to provide knowledge, resources and connect startups with business partners and co-investors from all over Europe, North America and Asia. As noted by the official press release from venture capital, its fund is also interested in investing in companies from other countries in Eastern Europe, including Bulgaria, but a requirement for them must be connected to the Romanian market through operations, development teams or sales.
Who gives
About 15 million euros from the fund will be obtained from rebuilding of the Jeremie Romania program, which presented a set of financial instruments initially supported by the structural funds of Romania for the period, as well as the EU innovfin program, which provides investments in equity and co-investments in or in parallel to investment funds which focus on companies in developed shares. The rest of the Roumania Fund II catalyst money will be guaranteed by private investors. Catalyst Romania will play a management role for the new fund. “We deploy a new venture capital fund at the right time for the Romanian technological ecosystem. The industry is faced with a new level of adoption powered by COVID-19. Despite human, social and economic disorders, the pandemic pushes us to progress towards a safer world, more flexible and digital at a faster pace than usual, ”commented Marius Ghenea, general partner Catalyst Romania.