Together with five EU Member States, the European Investment Bank is launching a fund to support European technology champions. In Belgium, Wallonie Entreprendre has joined forces with PMV, SFPI and Finance.Brussels to set up a €100 million fund to help scale-ups establish a foothold in Europe. 

The European Investment Bank is investing €500 million in a new European umbrella fund, the European Tech Champions Initiative (ETCI). Belgium is joining other EU member states such as Spain, Germany, France and Italy in contributing to this fund which will have a capital of 3.75 billion euros. The aim is to support European technology companies which are looking to non-European sources in their efforts to raise sums of more than €50 million. 

Retaining talent 

Currently, promising technology start-ups do not have sufficient capital to compete on a global scale, and are often acquired by foreign competitors, which naturally represents a loss to the European economy. This fund has been created to address this shortcoming and stimulate growth. 

The ETCI is what is known in the jargon as an umbrella fund, in the sense that it pools public funds and then invests in large-scale venture capital funds, which in turn provide funds to fast-growing technology companies. 

The ETCI has secured initial commitments totalling €3.75 billion, including €500 million from the EIB. But this is just the first round. In detail, France and Germany are investing €1 billion, Spain €400 million, Italy €170 million and Belgium €100 million. Here in Belgium, the federal government is contributing €45 million through the SFPI, while Flanders and Wallonia are each contributing €25 million through PMV and Wallonie Entreprendre. Brussels is contributing €5 million through Finance.Brussels. We need to do all we can to retain the skills and talents we have in our continent and our Region.