The European Investment Bank enters Italian venture capital for the first time and invests 21,65 million euros in Fondo Italia Venture I, managed by Invitalia Ventures SGR.
The investment was signed today by the EIB's vice president, Dario Scannapieco and by Salvo Mizzi, managing director of
Invitalia Ventures, SGR controlled by Invitalia, the government agency led by Domenico Arcuri.
With this subscription, after those already registered by MISE/Invitalia, by the American group Cisco, by Fondazione di Sardegna
and the Metec group, the Fund's collection phase was successfully completed, reaching an endowment of approximately 87 million euro.
Fondo Italia Venture I is therefore positioned among the main venture capital operators in Italy and has a critical mass of public-private smart capital to invest in the competitiveness of the Italian system.
In just under two years, the Italia Venture I fund has already invested 16 innovative startups and SMEs, committing 11 million euros with a
total investment value of 33 million euro, thanks to the co-investment mechanism with private, national and international investors, based on a mix of public and private capital.
The EIB's entry into the Invitalia Ventures Fund marks the will of the European institution to give a boost to the development of the venture
capital in Italy, a country that still remains in a marginal position compared to its European partners: 2016 data indicate that 2,7 billion euros have been invested in startups in France; in Germany 2 billion euros; in Spain 600 million euros; in Italy only 180 million euros. Furthermore, the first 2017 data (January-September) show a -30% compared to the previous year.
For the vice president of the EIB: “Venture capital helps start-ups grow, also because bank credit is too risky for them. But Italy is still at the bottom of the rankings for this type of investment. It is necessary to create a real ecosystem in support of startups also through the participation of the EIB in public-private funds".
According to the CEO of Invitalia: “The investment by the European Bank is a strong commitment to recover Italy's gap in venture capital, and
also a certain answer for companies that have difficulty in finding financing. Strengthening our startups through venture capital – underlines Arcuri – above all means creating the conditions for new lasting and quality employment”.
