ETF Start-up: first investment by EIF

The European Investment Fund (EIF) has made its first investment under the ETF Start-up facility. The EIF has committed euro 7.7m to Wellington Partners, a Munich based venture capital fund. Wellington has raised a total of euro 35.8m and it will focus on investments in early stage companies primarily in the areas of healthcare, biotechnology, telecommunications, software and multimedia.

ETF Start-up is managed by the EIF under the European Union's Growth and Employment Initiative*. Up to euro 190m is expected to be available under the ETF Start-up facility over the next 2-3 years for investment in specialised venture capital funds supporting SMEs with growth potential throughout the EU. Other investments under the facility are expected to be announced shortly.

* The Growth and Employment Initiative, which was formalised by the Council on 19 May 1998 (Decision 98/347/EC), is a larger programme of financial assistance to SMEs, set up by the European Community, following an initiative of the European Parliament and the Luxembourg Special Council on Employment of 20/21 November 1997. Besides the ETF Start-up facility, the EIF also manages the SME Guarantee facility under the Growth and Employment Initiative. A first guarantee agreement under this facility was announced in December 1998 with the Austrian Bürges Förderungsbank.

The European Investment Fund is a public-private partnership bringing together the European Investment Bank, the European Union and private and public financial institutions from all 15 Member States of the EU. It supports the integration of the EU by promoting medium and long term investment in two fields essential to the development of the European economy: TENs (Trans-European Networks) and SMEs (Small and Medium-sized Enterprises).