PFR Ventures | Podsumowanie POIR

PFR Ventures
SGOP Summary

Investments by PFR Ventures under the SGOP

PFR Ventures invested PLN 1.1 billion in VC funds between 2017 and 2023. These funds came from the Smart Growth Operational Programme (SGOP).

32

VC funds

1,6 PLN b

investments in start-ups (private & public funds)

380

funded companies

32

VC funds

1,6 PLN b

investments in start-ups (private & public funds)

380

funded companies

In 2017, PFR Ventures, under an agreement with the Ministry of Funds and Regional Policy and Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego, launched five investment programmes: Starter, Biznest, Open Innovation, KOFFI and NCBR CVC. All of them were based on EU funds (SGOP). The aim was to stimulate the Polish venture capital market and support the development of innovative enterprises.

PFR Ventures operates under the fund of funds (FoF) formula. This means that the funds it manages first go to venture capital funds, which then invest in innovative companies. Such solution allows, among other things, for the involvement of private investors who entrust funds in parallel to PFR Ventures. In addition, venture capital funds are managed by experienced managers. They are able to properly assess the investment potential of companies and then help them develop in such a way that they increase their value and consequently multiply the invested capital.

Between 2017 and 2023, PFR Ventures invested in 32 VC funds under the Starter, Biznest, Open Innovation, KOFFI and NCBR CVC programmes. The investment horizon of all funds that were injected with PFR capital reached 2023. In the following years, the management teams will focus on the development of companies (including investments in so-called follow-on rounds) and the gradual exit of deals (so-called exits). In parallel, PFR Ventures launched the second edition of the programmes in 2024, which was again based on EU capital.

The first edition of PFR Ventures programmes

Effects of measures under programmes supported by the SGOP

The five PFR Ventures programmes were designed to stimulate different areas of the Polish venture capital ecosystem. Thus, the strategy of the fund managers depended in part on which funds they used.

The strategies of the programmes and their parameters are the result of consultations conducted by PFR Ventures with twin institutions from Europe. These included Bpifrance, KfW and the British Business Bank, among others. The dialogue with experienced partners and international institutions (ILPA, Invest Europe) guaranteed the market-driven nature of our activities.

Below we summarise the overall objectives of the programmes and their effects.

PFR Starter

Geared towards investing in seed projects (e.g. before the first commercial sale). Its structure rewards private investors for the additional risk they incur from investing at a very early stage.

Budget	PLN 416m
Portfolio	ArkleyBrinc, Accelero, bValue, EEC Magenta, FundingBox, Freya Capital, KnowledgeHub, Movens Capital, RST Ventures for Earth, Satus Starter, Smok VC, Sunfish Partners, TarHeel Capital Pathfinder
Number of companies that have raised funds from these funds	184
Total investment in companies	PLN 471 m

PFR Biznest

The aim of the programme was to invest in management teams, which will each time engage so-called business angels to fund start-ups.

Budget	PLN 114m
Portfolio	Black Swan, CofounderZone, Kogito Ventures, NextRoad VC, PomerAngels
Number of business angels involved	416
Number of companies that have raised funds from these funds	71
Total investment in companies	PLN 179m
Including the angel contribution	PLN 91m

PFR Otwarte Innowacje

The funds financed the development of companies that were distinguished by their R&D&I component. The strategy was to also invest in more mature companies and have a higher capital commitment (up to PLN 60 million).

Budget	PLN 256m
Portfolio	Aper Ventures, Atmos Ventures, Montis Capital, YouNick, Tangent Line
Number of companies that have raised funds from these funds	40
Total investment in companies	PLN 401 m

PFR KOFFI

The programme was aimed at investing in more experienced fund managers who planned to set up large-cap funds focused on funding growth-stage companies.

Budget	PLN 132m
Portfolio	Avia Capital, Cogito Capital Partners, Finch Capital II; Finch Capital III; White Star Capital
Number of companies that have raised funds from these funds	20
Total investment in companies	PLN 194m

PFR NCBR CVC

The aim of the programme was to create corporate venture capital funds. This is a type of fund in which corporations become strategic investors. As part of this programme, we managed to engage Totalizator Sportowy, Tauron and PGE, among others, to finance start-ups. We also invested in an international fund co-founded by 3 foreign corporations: Nouryon, Bühler Group and Royal Cosun.

Budget	PLN 258m
Portfolio	Avia Capital, Cogito Capital Partners, EEC Magenta 2, SpeedUp Energy Innovation, ffVC, Icos Capital
Number of companies that have raised funds from these funds	65
Total investment in companies	388 mln PLN

In this programme, we managed EU POIR funds and additional capital (from the same source) was entrusted to us by the National Centre for Research and Development.

PFR Ventures database

Our portfolio companies

Find out which companies have been able to grow thanks to investments from our Venture Capital and Private Equity funds

Our funds

Find out which Venture Capital and Private Equity fund management teams are benefiting from PFR Ventures funding

Below we provide a database of all investments made by funds benefiting from SGOP capital. The database allows you to easily browse them by programme and specific funds.

Do you have additional questions? Write to [email protected]. Please note that we will not be able to provide you with detailed information on the financial parameters of the transactions. If you are interested in data on the Polish venture capital market - see the Research section.