Polish Development Fund Expands Its Investment Activities

Polish Development Fund Ventures (PFR Ventures) is a development finance institution dedicated to fund investments in Poland. Part of the Polish Development Fund, which is fully owned by the government of Poland, PFR Ventures is the largest fund investor in the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) region. Together with private investors, business angels and corporations, PFR Ventures invests in venture capital and private equity funds, through which it provides capital to innovative small and medium enterprises at various stages of development and throughout the country.

PFR Ventures has capital of PLN 3 billion, which is allocated for various types of investments. These funds may be invested in local or international funds, making it possible to develop the local Polish market and attract foreign investors to Poland.

PFR Ventures has recently significantly expanded its investment activities by signing agreements with three new international investment funds:

• DN Capital
• Finch Capital
• White Star Capital

As a result of these agreements, PFR Ventures has placed a total of PLN 115 million in these funds. In turn, these funds will invest twice this amount in innovative companies across Poland.

DN Capital is a global early stage venture firm founded in 2000 and based in London, Berlin and San Francisco. The firm focuses on Seed, Series A and select Series B opportunities in Europe and North America, with particular focus on four verticals: software, fintech, marketplaces and consumer internet. Among other category leaders, DN Capital has invested in entities such as Shazam, Auto1, HomeToGo, OLX and Quandoo.

Finch Capital is a series A/B investor in high-growth financial technologies companies run by exceptional entrepreneurs. The fund has offices in Amsterdam, London and Jakarta and has already invested in Grab and Twisto.

White Star Capital is a global multi-stage technology investment platform that invests in exceptional entrepreneurs building ambitious, international businesses. The fund operates globally and has offices in New York, London, Paris, Montreal, Toronto, Tokyo and Hong Kong. The fund’s main investment sectors are fintech, artificial intelligence (AI), foodtech, industrial tech and robotics, and digital health.

This post was provided by Ally Law member firm Izabella Żyglicka and Partners.