Catalyst Romania launches new EUR 40-50 mln fund for TMT projects

Venture capital firm Catalyst Romania, backed by 3TS Capital Partners, announces that it is deploying a second venture capital fund targeting technology, media, and telecom (TMT) companies, following an initial closing with institutional and private investors.

Catalyst Romania Fund II will have a target size of EUR 40-50 million.

Part of the money will come from the European Investment Fund (EIF) through the JEREMIE Romania Reflows and EU's InnovFin Programme.

Catalyst has also secured significant financial support from notable private investors.

"EUR 40 million is the target size of the fund. EUR 15 mln comes from the EIF and some EUR 25 mln is estimated to be obtained by other institutional and private investors," said Marius Ghenea, managing partner of the fund.

One of the private investors is local entrepreneur Adrian Mihai, one of the founders of Fan Courier, the biggest courier firm in Romania.

The new fund will run for ten years. The fund will offer tickets between EUR 1 and 3 million per company to some 16 companies in the initial investment period, Marius Ghenea explained. He specified that the fund targets companies in the initial stage of development, companies that have already demonstrated market traction but need financing for rapid growth, for expansion.

Catalyst Romania Fund II is the first second-generation early-stage venture capital fund in Romania.

It follows Catalyst Romania Fund I, operated by 3TS' local management team and financed through the JEREMIE Romania initiative.

The first fund invested more than EUR 12 mln in 10 well-known Romanian tech companies in recent years, including Elefant.ro, Vola.ro, Vector Watch, AvocatNet.ro, SmartBill, GreenHorse Games, and Omniconvert.

(Photo: Sarayut Thaneerat/ Dreamstime)