On Thursday, Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego (BGK) and the European Investment Fund (EIF) from the European Investment Bank (EIB) group officially signed an agreement initiating the Future Tech Poland (FTP) fund worth PLN 1.5 billion. According to BGK, the fund is expected to mobilize investments worth up to PLN 5 billion in total. The initiative is a pillar of the Innovate Poland program announced in November, which is intended to stimulate capital investments in Polish technology companies with high growth potential.
During the inauguration of the fund, the president of BGK, Mirosław Czekaj, presented the goals of Future Tech Poland.
As he says, it is intended to strengthen Poland's role as “key innovation center”. Czekaj explains that the fund is intended to provide capital support to the most innovative Polish enterprises, which are intended, among other things, to strengthen the Polish component in infrastructure investments.
— The fund is aimed at financing entities that will promote technological development, support the growth of innovation, expansion into foreign markets, increasing investment and prosperity of the country – emphasizes the president of BGK.
In turn, Marjut Falkstedt, president of EFI, emphasizes that Future Tech Poland will ensure an inflow of public capital and mobilize private investors to support the development of modern high-technology companies. — This is the largest pool of funds managed by the EIF in Poland so far. Our experience supporting the development of VC ecosystems across the European Union will help make innovation the next the flywheel of the Polish economy“- declares the president of the EIF.
Foundations of long-term growth and economic security of the country
The goal is therefore not only to increase the scale of investments in start-ups, but also strengthening the ecosystem of local VC funds and the role of Poland as an important innovation center.
Today, according to BGK, in Poland the share of VC funds is five-eight times lower than in Western Europe, not to mention leaders such as the USA or Israel. For Poland to continue to develop, it is necessary to strengthen this market, otherwise Polish technology companies will look for financing abroad.
As the Bank points out, Poland's broad strategic plan assumes the development of advanced technologies, increased competitiveness and the construction of a strong technological ecosystem of small and medium-sized companies. It is expected to be an important engine of economic growth in the coming years.
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President of BGK Mirosław Czekaj inaugurates the Future Tech Poland fund
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Anatol Chomicz / Forum / Forum Polish Photographers Agency
— Innovate Poland, a program announced jointly with BGK, PFR and PZU in November last year, is now gaining its first dimension through the inauguration of the Future Tech Poland fund. Today we are moving from announcements to concrete actions and accelerating the implementation of this program. This is a specific support tool for breakthrough technologies, innovative companies and ambitious teams that want to develop their projects and compete on international markets – notes Andrzej Domański, Minister of Finance and Economy.
And he emphasizes: – Thanks to the implementation of the assumptions of Innovate Poland and the new fund, we are strengthening the innovation ecosystem and we are building the foundations for long-term growth and economic security of the country.
The new fund will be composed of BGK and EIF
BGK contributes PLN 1 billion of capital to the fund, while the EIF contribution is PLN 500 millionhe will also manage the fund's assets. Future Tech Poland will focus on mobilizing venture capital investments by investing in funds that, in turn, invest capital in developing technology companies.
According to the plan, the first FTP investment decisions are to be approved in the first quarter of this year, and the entire program is to be fully implemented by the end of 2027. The fund will invest in venture capital and venture debt portfolio funds (on a smaller scale) covering the seed, start-up, later stage venture and growth capital phases (defined in Invest Europe), operating in the CEE area.
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The Future Tech Poland Fund is a key pillar of Innovate Poland. The budget of the first phase of Innovate Poland is PLN 4 billion committed by public institutions such as PFR, BGK and EIF, as well as a commercial entity – PZU. The second fund that makes up Innovate Poland is Innovate PL – Fund of Funds (FoF).
