The Fund of Funds (FoF) has signed an agreement with Innovation Capital II Ltd., selected to manage the Innovation in Enterprises Fund. The fund manager is the successor to Innovation Capital AD, which managed more than EUR 19 million during the previous programming period and completed 184 investments.
The Innovation in Enterprises Fund will provide support for the establishment and development of innovative businesses, with the aim of fostering innovation in Bulgaria and promoting the development of high value-added products. The expected outcomes include strengthening companies’ innovation capacity and improving access to advanced technologies. More than half of the resources will be invested in enterprises located in the less developed regions of the country.
The total resources under the fund are expected to reach EUR 39.58 million, of which EUR 32.17 million represent public funding provided under the Competitiveness and Innovation in Enterprises Programme 2021–2027, co-financed by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund. Part of the private capital attracted, amounting to EUR 3.91 million, will be committed upon the establishment of the alternative investment fund, while the remaining EUR 3.5 million will be raised subsequently and invested in specific final recipients.
The investment period of the Innovation in Enterprises Fund runs until 31 December 2030.
The instrument is expected to support at least 46 enterprises, of which at least half are to be newly established companies (registered within the previous three years).
The signing ceremony was attended by Iliyana Ilieva, Director General, and Velina Popova, Head of the Programming Department at the European Funds for Competitiveness Directorate General of the Ministry of Innovation and Growth, the Executive Directors of the Fund of Funds, and representatives of Innovation Capital II Ltd.
With the signing of the agreement, the Fund of Funds builds on the successful results achieved under the Innovation and Competitiveness Operational Programme 2014–2020 and continues to strengthen every segment of Bulgaria’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. This is the third agreement signed by the FoF for an equity financial instrument during the current programming period, making more than EUR 150 million available to the market.
