Press release
Bucharest, 8th of July 2021
- Vision: to shape Europe’s tech investments future, with expansion into EU starting in the second half of 2021
- Democratize the access to investing in innovative, private tech companies from Europe
- Pekka Mäki and Ted Cominos join the Seedblink Board of Advisors
Catalyst Romania Fund II – one of the most important VC funds in the region, having Marius Ghenea as Managing Partner – joins SeedBlink’s endeavor to expand into EU and to support the tech start-up ecosystem, by investing 1.2 million Euro as the lead investor in the Series A 3-million-Euro round.
SeedBlink – the investment platform with the highest growth in Europe had already collected, as part of this Series A round, 1.1 million Euro in record time, at the end of May, via equity crowd funding on its own platform. The rest of the financing came from Catalyst Romania Fund II and other local and international investors. The transaction was assisted by Stratulat Albulescu Attorneys at Law.
“Catalyst Romania has a proven track record of successfully investing in tech companies and playing an active role within the portfolio companies towards great exits. SeedBlink has the potential to remove the traditional barriers of the financing process, both for investors and for many innovative tech start-ups, across Europe. Platform & market growth will create the opportunity for much more participants – entrepreneurs & retail investors – to benefit from this democratization of the equity investment process. We’re excited to support SeedBlink’s team towards the achievement of this mission” declared Marius Ghenea, Managing Partner Catalyst Romania.
Vision: expansion into European Union starting Q3 2021
SeedBlink’s vision is to shape Europe’s tech future by building an investment platform that blends the audience of the crowd, the flexibility of the angels, and the structure offered by a VC.
SeedBlink’s Board of Advisors, led by Radu Georgescu, welcomes two new members: Ted Cominos Jr., a Chicago based corporate lawyer with more than 20 years of M&A, cross border, and private equity/venture capital experience, and Pekka Mäki, Managing Partner 3TS Capital Partners, who brings a lot of expertise in venture capital and equity crowdfunding, and is passionate about Europe’s tech investment outlook.
“We democratize the access of the individuals to private investments in start-ups, aiming to offer them the best tools for managing the portfolio strategy, and the infrastructure needed to present them with the same advantages and best practices from the venture capital world. This financing round confirms the trust gained by our vision to accelerate the tech innovation in Europe by supporting the entrepreneurs with “smart money”, said Radu Georgescu, Chairman of the Board, SeedBlink.
Remarkable results during the first 19 months of activity
With a community of 6,000 investors from 15 countries, SeedBlink launched 47 financing campaigns in the last 19 months, with companies headquartered in five different countries. This way, it helped many tech start-ups (including the SeedBlink own platform) to raise investments exceeding 21 million Euro from private individuals and VC funds, with 49% of the amount via equity crowdfunding.
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About SeedBlink
SeedBlink is the tech start-ups investment platform with the highest growth in Europe in regard to the collected amounts and the number of investors. The company aims to democratize the investment process by combining the visibility of the crowdfunding, the flexibility of the business angels, and the expertise offered by the VCs, in an online platform.
SeedBlink is the fastest growing investing platform specialized in sourcing, vetting, financing, and scaling European tech start-ups. The company aims to simplify the investment process for retail and accredited investors by combining crowd reach, business angel flexibility, and Venture Capital expertise, all in one internet platform. SeedBlink’s booming investors community and the selection of start-ups are at the core of the platform’s success, along with optimized portfolio diversification through thesis-aligned matching and engagement tools. For more information, please visit www.seedblink.com
About Catalyst Romania
Catalyst Romania is a leading venture capital investor in Romanian technology companies that have the potential to become regional leaders or global challengers. Catalyst Romania was the fund manager who raised the first Romanian venture fund backed by the JEREMIE Romania initiative in 2012. The team, comprising of Marius Ghenea, Alin Stanciu, Jozsef Kover, Alina Georgescu and Antonela Dragomir, will continue to primarily target investments in high growth sectors including Technology & Internet, Media & Communications and Technology-Enabled Services. Catalyst Romania is supported by 3TS Capital Partners, which serves as an extension of the Catalyst team and provides international expansion support for portfolio companies in Europe and the US. For further information, please visit www.catalystromania.com.
About EIF
The European Investment Fund is part of the European Investment Bank Group. Its central mission is to support Europe’s micro and small and medium-sized enterprises through access to finance. The EIF develops venture capital and growth instruments, guarantees and microfinance instruments, which specifically target this market segment. Through its role, the EIF promotes EU objectives in support of innovation, research and development, entrepreneurship, growth and employment.
About InnovFin Equity Programme
The InnovFin Equity programme – managed by the EIF – is part of “InnovFin – EU Finance for Innovators”, an initiative launched by the European Commission (EC) and the EIB Group in the framework of Horizon 2020. InnovFin Equity provides equity investments and co-investments to or alongside investment funds, focusing on companies in their early stages of development, operating in innovative sectors covered by Horizon 2020. The aim is to develop an extensive portfolio of funds, mobilizing EUR 4-5bn of investments in businesses established or active in the EU and Horizon 2020 Associated Countries.
About Jeremie Romania
JEREMIE Romania is a set of financial instruments initially supported from Romania’s structural funds during the programming period 2007-2013. Following the end of the programming period, EIF continues to act for and on behalf of the Government of Romania to manage the resources returned from the initial implementation under a new agreement signed in September 2020.
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Contact:
Marius Ghenea
Managing Partner – Catalyst Romania