The Fund of Funds (FoF) launched a procurement procedure for the selection of a financial intermediary to  implement the Innovation in Enterprises Fund financial instrument, financed by the Competitiveness and Innovation in Enterprises (CIE) 2021-2027, co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund.

The public resources to be made available by the FoF amount to EUR 32.17 million and the selected fund manager is expected to leverage additional private capital.

The main objective of the instrument is to stimulate entrepreneurship through the creation of innovation-based enterprises developing high added value products/cervices. Priorities also include improving the innovation capacity of enterprises and ensuring better access to knowledge and technology. Particular attention will be paid to the development of the innovation ecosystem in the less developed regions of the country, as well as to the accelerated uptake of innovation that will support the transition to a knowledge-based economy.

The investment period is until 31.12.2029 and the term of the fund will be 10 years, with the possibility of extension to 1+1 years.

The main selection criteria is given on the team’s expertise in PE investments, including those in innovative enterprises,.

Interested financial intermediaries may apply for participation in the selection procedure by 22.10.2024. The contract notice will be published on 10.09.2024 in the Official Journal of the European Union and the full documentation will be available on the Centralized Automated Information System in the buyer profile at the following link: https://app.eop.bg/buyer/5582.

This is the second procedure for the selection of a fund manager with resources under the CIE 2021-2027 by the Fund of Funds, following the procedure for the selection of financial intermediaries under the Entrepreneurship Fund announced at the end of 2023. The latter call attracted strong interest and 24 applications were received. With this procurement, the public resources that will reach the market amounts to more than EUR 130 million.