Oana Coșman
The fund became active on February 14th after its first closing will shortly announce its first transaction. The fund is raised with the support of the European Investment Fund (EIF) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
EIF supports GapMinder Fund II with an aggregate of €30 million via two initiatives, namely the European Union programme InvestEU and the Recovery Equity Fund, part of The National Recovery and Resilience Plan co-financed by EU via Next GenerationEU.
EBRD has invested €10 million in this fund. This it the first investment of EBRD in a fund launched by a team of Romanian partners.
Led by an experienced team in technology, business, investments and legal, GapMinder Ventures offers its portfolio companies not only financial resources but also strategic support plus access to an international network and capital markets.
The Team has been managing for the last six years GapMinder Fund I, a €50 million fund that has contributed significantly to the development of the tech start-ups environment in Romania out of the pioneering stage of the ecosystem.
Companies financed by GapMinder Fund I include Druid.AI, FintechOS, TypingDNA, Veridion, Siena.Cx, Cyscale, Deepstash, SmartDreamers, Machinations.io, Frisbo, and Innoship.io. The first fund was financed by EIF using resources from Romania’s structural funds, namely the Competitiveness Operational Programme 2014-2020.
The Partners of GapMinder Ventures managing Fund II are Dan Mihăescu, Sergiu Roșca, Cosmin Ochișor, and Alexandru Ruff. As of first closing, Robert Herșcovici has been promoted to the Investment Director position while the second layer investment team continues to be increased shortly.
The investment strategy: up to €2.5 million, with significant follow-on capabilities
GapMinder Fund II will deploy the majority of its capital in start-ups born in Romania, Moldova, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, and Bulgaria, with high ambitions and execution power to become global companies.
The VC will focus on B2B start-ups operating in the Fintech, Cybersecurity, Enterprise Automation, and Data/Analytics verticals. This approach is validated by the previous fund’s experience which invested in the same verticals and technologies.
“We are excited to continue to contribute to the development of the start-up ecosystem in Romania and South Eastern European countries. Our vision and strategy as well as proven good execution and performance is validated by the fact we raised our successor fund during a challenging 2023, and we are grateful for the high level of commitment and trust invested in us by EIF, EBRD, and by all our long-term investors, many of whom accompanied us along Fund I as well” said Dan Mihaescu, GapMinder Founding Partner.
