Euroventures IV

SMEs are the backbone of the Hungarian economy. Roughly 70% of the working population are employed by an estimated 700’000 SMEs which account for approximately 50% of Hungary’s GDP. However, already before the global financial crisis, access to finance, especially bank credit, has been notoriously difficult for SMEs. In the aftermath of the crisis which has hard hit Hungary, access to debt finance is simply out of reach for the vast majority of SMEs due to very high interest and sharply more restrictive bank lending.

Hungarian registration number: SH 5

• Strengthening of the private sector in Hungary
• Deepening of the Hungarian financial sector

Hungarian SMEs

The Euroventures IV Venture Capital Fund provides equity financing to up to 27 innovative companies with less than five years of existence. The fund is managed by Etalon Capital, a very experienced venture capital (VC) / private equity (PE) fund manager. Etalon co-invests with private investors which provide at least 30% of the capital for each investee company . This way public funds are leveraged to mobilise private resources which expands the financing options of Hungary's SMEs.

Achieved results:  

• 100% of the Hungarian Euroventures IV Venture Capital Fund's early-stage capital was fully invested by mid-year 2016.
• Since inception, the  Fund has assessed 699 investment opportunities and has invested in a diverse portfolio of 20 SMEs in areas such as biotechnology, health services, chemical research, customer services and IT. It has also generated 202 new jobs for highly qualified workers.
• To date, the Fund has sucessfully exited from 5 investee companies. Two of them can be recorded as real success stories in the world of venture capital investments.
  
• Overall, the Fund made scare capital available to promising entrepreuneurs and  thus provided growth opportunities to successful SMEs, including benefial side effects such as job creation, developoment of skills and knowledge. It also showcased to the private co-investors and the investment industry in general that Venture Capital investing in Hungary can be highly successful.

Phase 1 01.01.2010 - 31.12.2016   (Completed)