Catalyst Romania makes 10th investment and backs SmartDreamers, an HR Technology Company
Bucharest, Romania – September 2016:
Catalyst Romania, the leading private equity and venture capital fund dedicated to Romania invests 700,000 Euro in Smartdreamers, a recruitment technology company based in Targu Mures, Romania.
Founded in 2014 by Adrian Cernat, Mihai Ceusan and Marius Huza, Smartdreamers’ platform is currently used by more than 2.000 companies and 100.000 candidates in Romania and Hungary. Unlike traditional recruitment platforms, Smartdreamers’ platform connects companies and candidates through targeted marketing strategies, with a special focus on social media channels. In 2015 Smartdreamers launched InRecruit, a mobile recruitment application to help companies manage their recruitment processes. Whether it is job-posting through a single click or managing the careers page while managing all candidate profiles, InRecruit expedites the recruitment process from a couple of hours to a couple of minutes.
“Our goal is to deliver comprehensive and efficient recruitment solutions to all companies in different sizes and industries. The investment from Catalyst Romania will allow us to further develop the Smartdreamers platform and the InRecruit application and help us accelerate our growth in Romanian and Hungarian markets as well as other new markets in CEE.” stated Adrian Daniel Cernat, CEO of SmartDreamers.
“Smartdreamers is on a strong growth trajectory and has all the qualities we look for in an investment. We are excited to be partners with them and look forward to supporting the Company’s growth. We are especially proud of the investment as this marks an important milestone for Catalyst Romania as the 10th investment of the fund.” added Marius Ghenea, Investment Director, Catalyst Romania.
Prior to SmartDreamers, Catalyst Romania has invested in 9 other high-growth Romanian technology companies which include Marketizator, SmartBill, VectorWatch, Avocatnet.ro Simartis Telecom, www.elefant.ro, Green Horse Games, www.vola.ro and 123ContactForm.
Catalyst Romania is the first private equity and venture capital fund designed for Romania. Initially sponsored by 3TS Capital Partners, one of the leading European tech growth investors (www.3tscapital.com), Catalyst Romania is mainly funded by the European Investment Fund (EIF), through the JEREMIE initiative, co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund.
Catalyst Romania supports local SMEs active in the TMT sector with investments in the range of €200.000 to €2.000.000. Together with EIF, which through the Jeremie initiative is the largest contributor of Catalyst, there are also other investors in the fund: BT Asset Management (BTAM, a company member of Banca Transylvania Financial Group), and 3TS Capital Partners.
About SmartDreamers
SmartDreamers connects companies and candidates through targeted marketing strategies, especially on social media. In 2015 SmartDreamers had launched the recruitment app InRecruit, which helps companies manage the recruitment process. Whether if it is job-posting through a single click, managing the careers page or managing all CVs, regardless the source, InRecruit expedites the recruitment process from a couple of hours to a couple of minutes. www.smartdreamers.ro
About 3TS Capital Partners
3TS Capital Partners is one of the leading European technology focused private equity and venture capital firms. 3TS provides expansion capital and buyout funding for small and medium-sized businesses in growth sectors including Technology & Internet, Media & Communications and Technology-Enabled Services. Investors in the current and past 3TS funds totaling over €300 million include EIF, EBRD, Cisco, OTP, Sitra, 3i and KfW among others. For further information, please visit www.3tscapital.com
About Jeremie
JEREMIE (“Joint European Resources for Micro to Medium Enterprises” or “Joint European Resources for Micro to medium Enterprises in”) is a joint initiative of the Directorate-General for Regional Policy of the European Commission and the European Investment Bank Group (which includes European Investment Fund), which aims to improve access to finance for SMEs in the European Union. In Romania, the JEREMIE Holding Fund is financed by the European Regional Development Fund in the Sectoral Operational Programme “Increase of Economic Competitiveness”, Priority Axis 1 “An innovative and eco-efficient production” – Key Area of Intervention 1.2. “Access to finance for SMEs”. In Romania, apart from private equity, the JEREMIE initiative has so far supported almost EUR 200m in new SME loans through the guarantee facility implemented through three local banks and has recently launched a funded risk sharing instrument operated with four Romanian banks.
About EIF
The main mission of the European Investment Fund’s (EIF) , part of the European Investment Bank, is to support Europe’s micro, small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) by helping them to access finance. EIF designs and develops venture and growth capital, guarantees and microfinance instruments which specifically target this market segment. To do so, EIF fosters EU objectives in support of innovation, research and development, entrepreneurship, growth, and employment. EIF’s total net commitments to private equity funds amounted to over EUR 8.8 bn at end 2014. With investments in over 500 funds, EIF is a leading player in European venture due to the scale and the scope of its investments, especially in high-tech and early-stage segments. EIF’s guarantees loan portfolio totaled over EUR 5.6bn at end of 2014, positioning it as a major European SME guarantees actor and a leading micro-finance guarantor. For more information about EIF, check www.eif.org
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