Every entrepreneur has to think money at some point. No matter at which stage of development your company is, there are always moments of insecurity and doubt. But you do not need to worry anymore, because Polish Development Fund has it all covered!
Polish Development Fund (PFR), founded in 2013, is a group of financial and consultative institutions for entrepreneurs, self-governances and private individuals, supporting sustainable social and economic growth of Poland.
Polish Development Fund offers a wide array of financial and non-financial services, tailored to your particular needs. PFR aims to create an efficient system for raising capital and growth instruments to help your company at any stage of development.
PFR Ventures is Poland’s first professional institutional investor that is based on FoF (Fund of Funds) strategy. By following Polish Development Fund’s strategy, PFR Ventures offers repayable loans to innovative companies in the SME sector, with the help of selected financial intermediaries, such as venture capitals or business angels.
The first fund started by PFR Ventures is PFR Starter FIZ with the head-spinning pool of 782 million PLN (private funding included). That money allows them to invest in innovative projects at the earliest stage of development. Companies who would like to receive funding to start or develop their projects on the Polish market (regardless of any plans of entering other markets) have to provide a complete business plan. On their part, the venture capitals will provide funding, knowledge and mentoring. Thanks to their help, the entrepreneurs will have a bigger chance of achieving commercial success. Each company will get up to 3 million PLN in repayable loans.
Another financial instrument created by PFR Ventures is PRF BIZNEST FIZ, which waslaunched in August 2017. Its fund is 258 mln PLN. This fund offers financial support to small and medium businesses in the early stage of their development. Co-investments will be made by financial intermediaries and business angels, who support innovative companies with their experience, skills and contacts (smart money). PFR BIZNEST and the business angels will provide 260 mln PLN each. Young companies will receive a regular loan or one convertible to shares or stock. In this case, each investment will be max. 4 mln PLN.
A new financial instrument for companies from the SME sector has been created recently. PFR KOFFI FIZ is dedicated to companies at the growth/expansion stage of development. So if your company is creating new projects, entering new markets, or implementing new solutions, this fund is for you.
“PFR KOFFI FIZ will support innovative companies, giving them a push and a chance to strengthen their position in Poland, and enter international markets. In case of a VC with an international experience being the investor, not only do the entrepreneurs get money to develop their businesses in Poland but also they get a chance of faster expansion to foreign markets. We hope that the managing teams of those companies will not be all Polish, but more international. Thanks to that Poland will get the necessary investments know-how, and the Polish venture capital market will be further developed,” says Maciej Ćwikiewicz, vice-president of PFR Ventures.
PRF KOFFI has a budget of 300 mln PLN to invest in repayable loans (capital or quasi-capital) with VCs acting as financial intermediaries. This strategy will allow PRF KOFFI to invest in five to eight VC funds, whose total capitalisation will be over 600 mln PLN. An individual VC will get between 35 and 60 mln PLN. Those investments will comprise max. 50% of its capitalisation.
Another fund started by PFR is PFR NCBR CVC, aimed at innovative and technologically advanced research-development projects, in phase A or B of funding. The fund started by NCBiR, PFR Ventures, and PFR TFI will help corporate venture capital funds (CVC). The aim is to create 6-9 CVCs, whose total capitalisation value will be 800 mln PLN. Private investments will be made by large companies and the funds will be managed by independent teams. PFR NCBR CVC’s contribution to each CVC will be max. 80 mln PLN, and the private equity stakes will comprise more than 50% of the fund’s budget.
Transactions will be beneficial for all parties involved. Apart from financial support, portfolio companies will get a chance to verify their ideas within the corporation structure. Polish projects will be given an opportunity to expand outside the country’s borders, if the investor is an international corporation. On the other hand, the corporations who decide to invest, will get an access to innovative projects, which might give them an advantage over their competitors.
The last of funds that is still in the works is PFR Otwarte Innowacje FIZ. This fund is aimed at companies in the SME sector, who are at the stage of technological acceleration, development and, finally, the implementation of the solutions/B+R projects based on the open innovation formula with a large market potential. The venture capital funds, alongside private investors, will provide repayable loans of 5-60 mln PLN (421 mln PLN altogether).
Learn more about PFR and PFR Ventures at Impact fintech’17. On day 1 at 1:55 on the main stage, Paweł Borys, President of the Management Board of Polish Development Fund, will give a keynote speech on the architecture of venture capital market. At 3:30 you can attend PFR Ventures’ workshop where the PFR reps will talk about available funds (most notably the PFR NCBR CVC Fund of Funds). At 7:00, Startup4Export will take place with Małgorzata Walczak from PFR NCBR CVC Fund of Funds on the jury. Don’t forget to drop by the Startup Arena, where Eliza Kruczkowska, Head of Innovation at PFR, will appear.
