“The Croatian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association has existed for 20 years, and back then, and for many years after, it was just a brave group of ‘risk capital’ investors, where most entrepreneurs did not recognise them as partners for development, growth, and success. Today, private equity and venture capital funds, also known as risk capital funds, are no longer something exotic or a market niche. On the contrary, they are funds that, by supporting the most dynamic companies in our economy, have become the cornerstone of the Croatian economy and an integral part of Croatian society. Private equity and venture capital funds support our everyday lives to an extent we do not fully realise. Today, these companies are present in all leading firms in various sectors, from IT to retail, healthcare, tourism, manufacturing, and many others. The initial investment is often in startups or small and medium enterprises, and these small firms become international success stories because private equity and venture capital investors seek investment opportunities with the potential for rapid growth and globally competitive products or services. Ambitious local companies with a few employees and a bright idea can become multinational corporations employing thousands. The contribution of private equity and venture capital to the Croatian economy and society as a whole is a story of support for innovation, growth, and job creation. Today, we are at the forefront of transforming the Croatian economy in the desired direction of ‘high skill, high tech, and high wage.’ This is exactly in line with the slogan of our BestInvest conference – support the best and transform the rest!” said Mirna Marovic, President of CVCA.

“The Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development (HBOR) is crucial for developing the venture capital and growth capital market and has been the central point of development for this industry for over a decade. In the last five years, HBOR has launched a series of new initiatives, including CROGIP and CEETT, in partnership with the European Investment Fund (EIF), into which 50 million euros have been invested so far, with this amount increased by private investors’ capital to 300 million euros, representing available capital for fast-growing and innovative Croatian companies. New initiatives include CROGIP 2 and the Three Seas Initiative, and new financial instruments are being developed that HBOR will be able to create after a rigorous approval process by the European Commission from the InvestEU program,” highlighted Hrvoje Cuvalo, President of the Management Board of HBOR, at BestInvest.

Sladana Cosic, Head of Office in Croatia, European Investment Bank (EIB) Group, stated from the conference stage that the EIB, together with its sister company the EIF, is crucial for the development of the private equity and venture capital industry in Croatia, participating in the CROGIP, CROGIP II, CVCi, CVCi II, CEETT initiatives together with partners HBOR and the Ministry of Regional Development and European Funds.

The event, which brings together investors worth over three billion euros and the most innovative Croatian entrepreneurs, was held for the fourth consecutive year. The expert jury consisted of prominent experts from the business community: Velimir Srica (Faculty of Economics), Marijana Ivanov (Faculty of Economics/Croatian Exporters), Leo Mrsic (Algebra), Ivana Gazic (ZSE), Goran Saravnja (HGK), Tamara Perko (HUB), Hajdi Cenan (CRO StartUP), Sven Harjacek (Bird Incubator), Filip Stipancic (Smion), Vladimir Nisevic (Poslovni dnevnik), Andrej Knez (Addiko Bank), Bernard Ivezic (Unicorn Underground).

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In the category the Founder of the Year 2022, the award was won by Nikolina Lauc, co-founder and CEO of GlycanAge, and Investor of the Year 2022 is Provectus Capital Partners. The award for Private equity investment of the Year 2022 was also given to Provectus Capital Partners for the investment in Arithera Special Hospital. The Later-stage Venture Capital Investment of the Year 2022 went to Rimac Group. The Early-stage Venture Capital Investment of the Year 2022 was awarded to Fil Rouge Capital for their investment in Native Teams, and the Fundraising of the Year 2022 went to Provectus Capital Partners.

“When private equity and venture capital investments are viewed in the context of a share of total GDP, Croatia attracted 0.650% of its GDP in private equity and venture capital investments in the last year. Croatia is the only Central and Eastern European (CEE) country besides Estonia whose 2022 private equity and venture capital investments as % of GDP exceeded the European average of 0.638%. All other CEE countries are far below that average, as the CEE average for attracting private equity and venture capital investment is 0.131% of GDP for 2022. Croatia is, therefore, five times better than the regional average (CEE) and slightly better than the European average, which is rare in other economic indicators.” – said Mirna Marovic, President of CVCA.

“Croatia, on the wings of the success of Infobip, Rimac, Photomath, Fonoa and many other successful scaleup and unicorn business stories, supported by private equity and venture capital investments, has the opportunity to transform its economy. This positive transformation – embodied in the BestInvest.hr slogan: “Support the Best & Transform the Rest” is based on three pillars: high tech, high skills, and high wage! For a small country like us, it is the only way to achieve long-term and sustainable growth.” – said Mirna Marovic, President of CVCA.

At this year’s BestInvest, we also had the opportunity to welcome the State Secretary Zrinka Raguž from the Ministry of Regional Development and EU Funds, who officially opened the BestInvest conference on behalf of Minister Erlic.

The main keynote presentation was given by Hrvoje Cuvalo, President of the Management Board, Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development (HBOR), in which he emphasised the crucial role of HBOR in contributing to the development of the private equity and venture capital markets.

“HBOR has profiled itself as the central institution for developing Croatia’s equity and quasi-equity market. For the creation of new venture capital funds and their investment in the initiation, growth and development of Croatian companies, along with HBOR and EIF, the presence of other institutional investors is necessary, as well as private investors, because only with them in synergy can we achieve significant growth.“- said Hrvoje Cuvalo, President of the Management Board of the Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development (HBOR), at BestInvest.

Victoria Zinchuk, Regional Director of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) presented regional support to private equity and venture capital ecosystems provided by the EBRD.

Other speakers with the keynote presentations were Nikolina Lauc (GlycanAge), who gave a presentation on the topic “Can we stop or even restore biological ageing in order to live a longer and healthier life?”, Dubravko Babic (Eridan Communications Inc.) talked about technology startups in Silicon Valley, Dominik Dolenec (Emona Capital), presented his London-based views on global scaling up opportunities for CEE companies, and Ivo Bozic (Raiffeisen Bank International AG), who discussed opportunities for the venture debt and other debt financings for startups/scaleups.

The panel of private equity investors was attended by investors who collectively manage over 4 billion euros, namely Marko Galic (Provectus Capital Partners), Krešimir Gjenero (Mezzanine Partners), Tomislav Tomljenovic (Enterprise Investors), Aleksandar Dragicevic (Mid Europa) and Mateo Zokalj (BlackPeak Capital), and the panel was moderated by Vladimir Nisevic (Poslovni dnevnik).

Miryana Joksovic (Arcion Labs), Matija Nakic (Farseer), Edo Mujkic (BiteMe Nutrition) and Marin Bek (Ascalia) participated in the Founder’s panel, and the panel was moderated by Bernard Ivezic (Jutarnji List).

Two Fireside Chats were also held, where Goran Deak (TDA), Julien Coustaury (Fil Rouge Capital) and Pierre Matek (Feelsgood Capital), and moderator Mirna Marovic (CVCA), discussed the path from local funding to the global influence of TDA. The second Fireside Chat was on the topic of the global success of the Museum of Illusions, where Teo Sirola, president of the Museum of Illusions, shared his thoughts in a conversation with Mirna Marovic (CVCA).

The expert jury for the selection and awarding of BestInvest awards consisted of eminent experts from the business community who presented the awards to this year’s laureates (in alphabetical order): Hajdi Cenan (CRO StartUP), Ivana Gazic (ZSE), Marijana Ivanov (Faculty of Economics/Croatian Exporters), Bernard Ivezić (Jutarnji list), Andrej Knez (Bloomberg Adria), Zeljko Krizmanic (Bird Incubator), Leo Mršić (Algebra), Vladimir Nisevic (Poslovni dnevnik), Tamara Perko (HUB), Morena Plejic (Progress Market ZSE), Miodrag Sajatovic (Lider), Goran Saravnja (HGK), Hrvoje Serdarusic, Velimir Srica (Faculty of Economics) and Filip Stipancic (Lean Startup Croatia).

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CVCA Annual General Assembly & Xmas Party

14 December 2022 , hotel Esplanade, Zagreb at 16:00

On 14 December 2022, the Croatian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (CVCA) held the General Assembly Meeting of its members, followed by the Xmas Networking Drinks.

At the General Assembly, Mirna Marovic, CVCA’s President, presented the President’s report on the activities in 2022. Some of the activities included the flagship conference BestInvest Croatia with an award ceremony for the best private equity and venture capital investments, which was a significant success and was widely covered by media. Other activities included regular Management Board Meetings, establishing partnerships with various institutions, regularly updating the CVCA website with market news, member news and various reports, and regular social networks posts and e-newsletter.

Following the President’s report and a short recap of activities in 2022, the CVCA Members discussed concrete next steps in the CVCA’s activities, operational matters, and some other topics. Some of the activities planned for 2023 include publication Croatian PE&VC Success Stories, SustainInvest to promote the sustainable and responsible investment of the PE&VC industry (1 March 2023, hotel Westin, Zagreb), an LP/GP Networking Event in Dubrovnik (17-19 May 2023, hotel Excelsior, Dubrovnik), third annual BestInvest Croatia conference event (27 June 2023). Other activities will include surveys and data collection (for CVCA and as part of the European Data Cooperative, Invest Europe), cooperation with the leading global and regional partner events, and members’ contribution to the CVCA website, social networks, and e-newsletter content.

After the formal part of the assembly, Xmas Networking Drinks followed, bringing CVCA members and representatives of the business community associated with the private equity and venture capital industry.

16:00 - 17:00CVCA Annual General Assembly, conference room Paris, the Esplanade

CVCA Annual General Assembly, conference room Paris, the Esplanade

17:00 - 18:30Xmas Party, conference room Paris, the Esplanade

Xmas Party, conference room Paris, the Esplanade

18:30Afterparty, Zagreb Advent, Oleander terrace, the Esplanade

Afterparty, Zagreb Advent, Oleander terrace, the Esplanade

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The company envisages this expansion as a combination of organic growth and acquisitions and plans to make further investments to maintain the company’s leading position in B2B sales intelligence globally.

We are pleased to welcome Viking Global Investors as our new major investor. This funding will help us empower companies with international sales intelligence in the coming years, setting a new standard in data quality and compliance. This will accelerate our growth and global expansion as a leading provider of intelligent B2B sales data, said James Isilay, CEO of Cognism, through their website.

This investment follows Cognism ’2020 capital raising in which it raised $ 12 million and the 2021 one that ended with $ 12.5 million raised. Also, the company opened a US office in Boston in 2021, led by a new vice president of sales, Mark Bedard, who was previously at ZoomInfo and accepted industry veteran Phil Garlick on its board, UK Tech News reports.

No other software company offers a truly global sales intelligence platform like Cognism. By combining our contact information with advanced contextual data points such as technology and customer intention signals, we help modern revenue teams connect with trust and exceed goals. Our goal is to enable companies to build meaningful relationships with their next best client in an efficient and cost-effective way, Isilay said.

By the way, the company was founded in 2015 and is engaged in providing tools in sales teams to generate data on potential customers. Cognisma says their software is compliant with data regulations such as the GDPR, which was introduced in Europe in May 2018, and the company currently employs over 250 people based in seven countries including the UK, US, Canada, South Africa. Croatia, Macedonia, and Germany. Cognism is in the portfolio of the Croatian VC fund, South Central Ventures, which is a member of the Croatian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (CVCA).

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This often means a balance between debt and equity. Such a crossroads is sometimes, for example, the initiation of investments in the development phase, when the entrepreneur (yet) would not dilute the ownership by allowing, for example, private equity investors, and for some reason cannot or does not want to rely entirely on banks or equity. Similar doubts can be imposed when, for example, in the entrepreneurial venture of two founders, one wants to leave and the other would like to continue their own. In such and many other business situations, something between a classic bank loan and equity is often the optimal solution – various variants of the so-called mezzanine financing, which is usually much more flexible than banking, including the issue of repayment or amortization of loans.

A new fund for the domestic market should soon be operational, which has recognized its market niche in this segment of SME financing, and whose investment potential should be close to HRK 400 million. Darko Drozdek, Krešimir Gjenero, and Tomislav Tadić are behind the Croatian Mezzanine Debt Fund project. Namely, at last week’s session of the Board of Directors, HANFA issued an approval for the establishment of the Croatian Mezzanine Debt Fund, a closed-ended alternative fund (ZAIF) for venture capital. This solution includes giving consent for the management of this fund to Mezzanine Partners. The fund plans to raise 50 million euros, and the duration of this fund’s investment is 4 to 7 years. Croatian Mezzanine Debt Fund is one of three venture capital fund projects that have passed the selection procedure of the European Investment Fund (EIF) and are financially supported by investments of the EIF and the Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development under CROGIP, an investment program these two institutions have agreed to encourage investment in small and medium-sized enterprises. Ultimately, the investment potential will be at least twice the amount of their support. According to Drozdek and Gjenero, the goal is ultimately to raise a total of 50m euros. After HANFA received approval for the establishment and management, talks with (other) potential investors, namely financial and institutional investors, will follow in the next few weeks.

All in all, the fund should start operating in a few weeks. Given the specific profile, and one of the features of the mezzanine arrangement is that investments start as debt, and the cycles in terms of transaction realization are somewhat different than, for example, private equity (PE) funds. Therefore, it is calculated that the first CMD fund transactions could follow as early as the end of the first quarter. “The mezzanine concept usually comes as a step before private equity capital,” Gjenero points out. Regarding the size of individual transactions, they point out that the target amounts are between one and five million euros. When it comes to required/expected returns, they are positioned in accordance with the hybrid character of the mezzanine “product” and the accompanying risks. Domestic financiers will say that the mezzanine is very well recognized today as a niche with good potential, although there are few institutional players, funds, in it so far. On the one hand, banks have tightened lending conditions, and on the other, the PE industry, they say, is already very crowded. HANFA points out that the plan is for the fund to invest in at least 10 to 15 companies via subordinated debt, not excluding warrants with an equity component.

The post New fund for mezzanine financing of small and medium enterprises is at a low start appeared first on CVCA.

The financing arranger is the second-largest American, and the third-largest investment bank in the world, Bank of America. The process of investing fresh capital for the further development and growth of Bellabeat began in April and should be completed by the end of January this year.

Bank of America is an investment bank that finds promising companies for its clients to invest in, so Bank of America is a mediator, financing arranger, gathers investors, and leads the investment, and we get investors from America and Europe to whom we sell ownership stakes. Bellabeat is financed by selling equity stakes, thus increasing our market value. The fresh capital thus obtained is invested in development and growth, after which we achieve greater market valuation. So far, we have raised a total of $ 100 million in capital investment from 28 investors. He would also emphasize that the investment of Bank of America closes the biggest round of recapitalization so far – says Sandro Moore.

We are enthusiastic about working with Bellabeat, with whom we share the same goals and values. The team of high-ranking Bank of America experts is dedicated to Bellabeat as the company has high-value technology and experience in the field of health and wellness, thanks to which Bellabeat achieves superior market valuation. The business profile and prominent position in the sector make investing in Bellabeat attractive to a wide range of Bank of America clients, in a wide range of investment strategies and geographical areas, said Stephen Bloom, CEO of Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

New capital raised before the IPO (pre-IPO) Bellabeat will invest in the development of new versions of its core technologies, obtaining permits for their use in health care facilities, opening a chain of new stores, one of which in Zagreb, in the development of corporate wellness programs, acquisition of companies with which to expand and complete its range, construction of its own wellness campus and other projects.

The post Bellabeat has signed a contract with Bank of America, the third largest investment bank in the world appeared first on CVCA.

Already in 2020, these startups had revenues of up to 10 million euros, growing up to 10 times a year and continuously increasing the number of employees. Now there are close to 300 employees.

The list is not numbered, and the 25 most promising startups are listed in alphabetical order. These are: AGRIVI, Aircash, airt, Amodo, AMPnet, Ascalia, BiteMe Nutrition, Cidrani, CircuitMess, Farseer, Go Green Ozonator, Identyum, Include, Memgraph, Mindsmiths, Miret, NUOTWO, OmoLab, OptimoRouek, Orqa. ai, sportreact, STEMI and Wasp.

For each startup, the founders are listed, the year of establishment, how many total investments it has received so far, how much income the startup generated in 2020, as well as the growth compared to the year before, and the number of employees. If the startup is newly established, then n / a is specified, ie there is no data. The number of employees is stated for 2020, and the legal headquarters is stated first at the headquarters, and then, if the startup has its headquarters abroad and development headquarters in Croatia.

Mirna Marović, president of CVCA, participated as an expert jury member in the selection of TOP25 startups that are worth following in 2022.

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