KfW Capital 2019: first full financial year successful

• Volume in the ERP VC fund investments programme in-creased as planned to around EUR 155 million, investment commitments to 10 funds
• Contribution to improving capital access for innovative technology companies in Germany
• Overall portfolio comprises 34 VC funds, committed capital at around EUR 600 million
• Further increase in annual investment volume planned. Further development of the VC market: focus on ESG

In 2019, KfW Capital made investment commitments amounting to EUR 156 million. As planned, the KfW subsidiary for equity capital suc-cessfully increased the investment commitments in the ERP VC fund investments programme with the support of the ERP Special Fund by around a quarter to approx. EUR 155 million (2018: EUR 124 million). The remaining difference is a result of the investments in High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) I + II. “The first full financial year was very suc-cessful for us. We invested in a total of ten new VC funds, and interest in KfW Capital remains very high,” says Dr Jörg Goschin, who heads up KfW Capital together with Alexander Thees as Managing Directors. “In our first full financial year, we were able to make an important contribution to improving access to capital for innovative technology companies in Germany,” says Alexander Thees.

At the end of last year, KfW Capital’s portfolio comprised 34 VC fund commitments with a volume of around EUR 600 million. The funds in-clude both established follow-up funds and first-time funds. Around three-quarters of the funds prioritise ICT, life sciences and industrial technology; one quarter invest across sectors. The aggregated volume of all funds in which KfW Capital is invested amounts to more than EUR 7 billion.

The aim of VC fund investments is to improve access to capital for innovative technology companies in the start-up and growth phase over the long term. In the next ten years, KfW Capital will invest around EUR 2 billion in German and European VC funds. The KfW subsidiary plans to increase the volume of the ERP VC fund investments pro-gramme to EUR 180 million in 2020. In addition, as a VC fund investor, KfW Capital will continue to support the target funds in their efforts to address the increasingly important issue of environmental social governance (ESG) criteria. Furthermore, KfW Capital is currently discussing an umbrella fund for additional growth capital with KfW, the German Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy and the German Ministry of Finance.

The VC funds are required to finance companies in Germany with at least the amount contributed by KfW Capital. For the VC funds, KfW Capital is a reliable partner that always invests on the same terms as private investors, across sectors, on a long-term basis and irrespective of economic cycles.