PFR Ventures has signed agreements with four Polish venture capital funds that invest in innovative companies in the country and the CEE region, including Inovo VC, Market One Capital, and SMOK Ventures. The public investor allocated over PLN 150 million to them last year under the PFR VC Hub program. The funds come from the budget of the Polish Development Fund. The first contracts were signed at the end of 2022, and the last one at the beginning of 2024.
All investment teams have already established their position on the Polish market, and three of them had previously received support from PFR Ventures within programs funded by EU funds. They used them to identify and invest in innovative companies with potential at an early stage of development, and then support them in their growth.
The funds supported by PFR Ventures will place most of their capital in innovative Polish companies. Over PLN 700 million could go to Polish enterprises in total. At the same time, the area of interest of all the funds extends beyond just our country. The Inovo VC and SMOK Ventures funds plan to invest or have already invested in companies from Central and Eastern Europe. Market One Capital also supports startups from across Europe, including France, Germany, and the UK. The fourth fund will be announced at a later date.
“– With the development of the Polish venture capital market, our offer is expanding. A few years ago, we decided to finance the best Polish teams also with PFR funds. We want managers to have access to capital that provides greater flexibility in terms of investment strategy,” explains Paweł Borys, CEO of the Polish Development Fund.
“– We look at the development of the Polish venture capital market comprehensively. We care about the growth in the number of funds and the interest of private investors in this asset class. Above all, however, we focus on providing indirect access to capital for Polish innovative companies. We achieve this by building lasting relationships with the best management teams: local and international. We have been supporting the Polish teams in which we have recently invested for many years. They have proven that they are trustworthy, know how to identify entrepreneurs with the greatest potential, and then support them by providing real “smart money”, sharing knowledge and networking, and also helping them obtain capital from international funds for growth in the development phase,” says Bartłomiej Samsonowicz, Investment Director at PFR Ventures.
Inovo VC is currently running its third venture capital fund, with a capitalization of over 107 million EUR, which has so far invested in start-ups such as Quesma, Livekid and Fiat Republic. The team has been active since 2015 and its portfolio includes Polish companies Booksy, Infermedica, Jutro Medical, Packhelp, Spacelift, Tidio, Zowie, and the Ukrainian Preply.
Market One Capital manages the second fund, with a target capitalization of approximately 80 million EUR. The team has been active since 2017 and invests in companies that use the so-called network effect and marketplaces in the B2B/B2C model. Market One Capital’s funds have in their portfolio such companies as the Polish Packhelp and Jutro Medical, Lithuanian Ovoko, and German TIER Mobility.
SMOK Ventures was established in 2019 and to date has invested in 38 companies, including Authologic, Omnipack, SunRoof, and Vue Storefront. Its second fund manages 25 million USD and invests in start-ups from Poland and Central and Eastern Europe, as well as those set up in other regions by people of Polish origin.
The fourth team will focus on financing companies in the growth equity phase from Poland and Europe. It is managed by a group of experienced managers. The target size of the fund is similar to the size of the other Polish funds in the PFR VC Hub portfolio.
PFR Ventures programs are powered by capital from EU funds or the budget of the Polish Development Fund. PFR VC Hub invests funds from the PFR budget in experienced venture capital funds that invest in Polish companies. In the coming years, PFR Ventures will provide capital for 40 VC funds in which it will invest about PLN 2 billion. The funds come from the EU program European Funds for a Modern Economy.
