Romanian venture capital (VC) firm GapMinder aims to invest up to €80mn in technology companies both in Romania and Eastern Europe, through its second fund, GapMinder Fund II – 50% financed by the European Union (EU) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). 

The fund will have a strong focus on fintech, cybersecurity, enterprise automation, and data/analytics. It will target Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Moldova, Serbia and Slovenia.

The fund became active on  February 14 after its first closing and will shortly announce its first transaction.

Out of the total fund’s capitalisation, €30mn comes from the EU’s InvestEU scheme and Romania’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), more specifically the the Recovery Equity Fund. The European Investment Fund (EIF) will handle these contributions. Separately, the EBRD contributed €10mn, as its first investment in in a fund launched by Romanian partners.

The predecessor of the fund just launched, the €50mn GapMinder Fund I, has contributed significantly to the development of the tech startup environment in Romania. 

Companies financed by GapMinder Fund I include Druid.AI, FintechOS, TypingDNA, Veridion, and Siena.Cx, Cyscale, Deepstash, SmartDreamers, Machinations.io, Frisbo and Innoship.io. 

The first fund was financed by EIF using resources from Romania’s structural funds, namely the Competitiveness Operational Programme 2014-2020.