Brussels — The European Commission plans to create a public-private fund of at least €10bn to help tech companies scale up as the EU aims to narrow its innovation gap with the US and China.
Launched on Wednesday, the commission’s strategy, dubbed Choose Europe to start and scale, is designed to make up for the EU’s shortfall in unicorn companies — start-ups with a value that has risen above $1bn.
The EU executive outlined key challenges limiting start-ups’ growth to scale including fragmented regulation across the 27-nation bloc and access to finance, markets, talent and infrastructure.
Europe has a shortage of venture capital willing to bet on early initiatives, while for later-stage financing, as companies expand their markets and potential prepare for a stock market listing, US funding is seven times bigger.
The commission said it would create a “Scaleup Europe Fund” next year, with a public component and about four times more private money. The fund would take stakes in promising companies and be run by a private investment manager.
The precise size is still to be determined, but an EU official said it would be a double-digit billion-euro amount.
“We don’t want it to be a drop in the water. We want it to make a clear difference,” the official said.
EU consumers hold much of their money in banks, whose capital is about 300% of GDP, against 85% for US counterparts.
The EU already has plans to steer private savings to investments in business through its Savings and Investments Union, which aims to develop a more expansive private pension industry across the region.
The commission's strategy includes proposals to create simpler rules with reduced administrative burdens for hi-tech start-ups, boost participation in public procurement and to fast-track entry for non-EU start-up founders.
Reuters
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