The European Investment Fund has partnered two banks to launch an investment platform that aims to support the creation of 100 spinouts.

The European Investment Fund (EIF), the venture capital arm of EU-owned European Investment Bank, has joined forces with financial institutions SID Banka and Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development (HBOR) to launch a €40m ($48m) vehicle. EIF is providing €20m, while SID Banka and HBOR are each committing €10m. The Central Eastern European Technology Transfer (CEETT) platform will be aimed at universities and research institutes in Croatia and Slovenia, backing regional VC funds that focus on financing research projects and technology development. It will also back research projects with commercial potential and invest to protect intellectual property. The fund’s goal is to improve commercialisation activities in the two countries, generating more than 350 patent applications and 100 spinouts over the next five years. CEETT is seen as a first step towards long-term provision of capital and near-equity financing. It is the first time such a multinational platform for technology transfer has been launched in the European Union. Alain Godard, chief executive of the EIF, said: “With the launch of the CEETT, the EIF, SID Banka and HBOR are making financial history in the European Union, Slovenia and Croatia. We have created the first ever multinational platform for technology transfer in the European Union. “At the same time in Slovenia and Croatia, CEETT is the first long-term solution for financing research projects and the protection of intellectual property at local universities and research institutes and, equally important, for financing technology transfer. “The EIF is very proud of our contribution to the further advancement of scientific research in the two countries and I would like to thank our partners at SID Banka and HBOR for their energy and hard work in setting up the CEETT.”

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Thierry Heles

Thierry Heles is the editor of Global University Venturing, host of the Beyond the Breakthrough interview podcast and responsible for the monthly GUV Gazette (sign up here for free).