Slovakia Venture to Future Fund

Slovakia Venture to Future Fund specializes in backing innovation-driven Slovak enterprises with global leadership potential. The fund adopts a holistic investment approach that extends beyond merely focusing on high-tech industries, emphasizing innovation level, solution uniqueness, and teams demonstrating exceptional execution capabilities. Their comprehensive evaluation framework prioritizes businesses with transformative potential regardless of sector, provided they demonstrate genuine innovation and are led by skilled management teams capable of navigating competitive global markets.

The fund targets growth-stage SMEs that have already validated their business models through market traction, evidenced by paying customers or secured contracts. Investment amounts typically range from €0.5 million to €4.5 million, with most investments averaging between €1.5-2 million. Each investment opportunity undergoes rigorous case-by-case assessment to determine appropriate funding structure and final allocation, ensuring alignment with both the fund's strategic objectives and the company's growth trajectory.

A distinctive feature of the fund's investment philosophy is its commitment to the pari passu principle, always co-investing alongside independent private investors in a balanced 50:50 ratio. This approach ensures shared risks and rewards while providing portfolio companies with a diverse investor base. The fund maintains a geographic focus on Slovak-incorporated SMEs or European companies with substantial Slovak connections, reinforcing its mission to strengthen the Slovak innovation ecosystem while facilitating international expansion.

With a defined investment horizon of 3-7 years per portfolio company and an overall fund lifespan of 10 years, the fund operates with a clear timeline for value creation and realization. As of June 2020, the fund had four remaining years to identify and finance promising ventures, indicating a strategic deployment phase through 2024. This structured approach allows the fund to provide not just capital but also the appropriate development timeframe for portfolio companies to achieve significant milestones and position themselves for successful exits, delivering returns to investors while contributing to Slovakia's emergence as a regional innovation hub.