Members of CRANE at the launch of the Regional Innovation Fund

On Tuesday, October 27, 2015, in the European House in Zagreb, a European Investment Fund EIF conference was held, on the occasion of the launch of the Regional Innovation Fund (Enterprise Innovation Fund – ENIF) and the announcement of the Fund’s activities in the following period. Davorin Štetner, Hrvoje Prpić, Nikola Serdar and Mihovil Barančić participated in the launch of the fund as CRANE representatives.

The Regional Innovation Fund was founded on the initiative of the European Commission, the European Investment Fund and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development which are also the biggest investors in the fund. Apart from them, investors in the ENIF are also the participating countries, which are also the countries in which the fund will invest; those are Croatia, which has already invested over 2 million euros, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo, Macedonia and Albania.

In the total fund for investing in innovative start-ups and early-stage companies, there is already over 25 million euros, and by the end of the year it should amount to the targeted 40 million euros. ENIF plans to primarily fund budding technology companies or those in early stages of business that show biggest growth potential through investing in 25 to 49 percent of ownership shares. Individual investments will be an average of 1.5 million euros, but can range from 100 thousand euros for seed companies, to a maximum of 3 million euros for projects with extreme potential, which will fill the financial hole for entrepreneurs who have difficulties acquiring funds through classic sources of funding.