The Fund of Funds (FoF) has opened a procedure for the selection of fund managers for the management of financial instrument "Entrepreneurship Fund," financed with funds from the "Competitiveness and Innovation in Enterprises" Programme 2021-2027 (CIEP), co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund, implemented through 3 separate positions:
- Lot I "Implementation of an Early Stage Entrepreneurship Fund with a public financial resource of 30 million euros."
- Lot II "Implementation of a Venture Capital Entrepreneurship Fund with a public financial resource of 30 million euros."
- Lot III "Implementation of ae Growth Entrepreneurship Fund with a public financial resource of 40 million euros."
The provided public resource amounts to a total of 100 million euros, and it is expected that through additional co-financing from private investors, the total amount will reach nearly 126 million euros.
The financial instrument under Specific Objective (iii) of Priority 1 "Innovation and Growth" of the CIEP is structured to promote entrepreneurship create new and support existing enterprises, thus ensuring continuity with the already existing funds for equity and quasi-equity investments with public resources (under OPIC 2014-2020). Through the implementation of the new financial instrument will be improved the access to finance to enterprises at all stages of their development (from new SMEs at the acceleration and early stages, to enterprises in their growth stage) and from various sectors.
The FMFIB will be the anchor investor in above funds. The financial instrument requires a combination of public resources and private financing of at least 10% at Fund level. The funds will invest in a diversified portfolio of equity or quasi-equity investments, without pure debt, aimed to support the development of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Bulgaria.
The three funds will provide equity and quasi-equity investments for enterprises at all stages of development depending on their growth potential and in accordance with the market needs.
Following market consultations, the "Entrepreneurship Fund" is structured as three investment funds, as follows:
- Early Stage Fund: public resource of 30 million euros aimed at providing support to startup enterprises, mainly at concept level, acceleration stage, and early stage of development; individual investments may be up to 1 million euros.
- Venture Capital Fund: public funds amounting to 30 million euros, with investment focus on companies that have developed their product or service and aim to start mass production and/or distribute to target markets, as well as rapidly growing enterprises. The maximum number of individual investments, including follow-on investments, should not exceed 3 million euros.
- Growth Fund, with public resources of 40 million euros, for investments in enterprises in their growth stage that have reached a relatively mature phase of their development, as well as rapidly growing enterprises, with a maximum amount for individual investments of up to 3 million euros.
The funds will be focused on companies operating in sectors from the National Strategy for SMEs 2021-2027.
The duration of the three funds will be for a 10-year period with the possibility of extension for up to two years.
During the selection process of fund managers who will manage the three funds, the main emphasis will be on team’s previous experience in equity investments, including exits and the provided support to various stages of enterprise development. The potential fund managers can submit their applications for participation until February 20, 2024.
The announcement for the public procurement will be published on December 15, 2023, in the Official Journal of the European Union. All documentation will be visible in the CAIS EOP system in the buyer's profile at the following link: https://app.eop.bg/buyer/5582
