EIF supported Indico Capital Partners launches Venture Capital fund

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  Largest private and independent early stage VC fund based in Lisbon;
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  Stephan Morais, Ricardo Torgal and Cristina Fonseca founding Partners at Indico Capital Partners;
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  The EIF (European Investment Fund), is a cornerstone investor and this support is backed by the Investment Plan for Europe - the Juncker Plan.

EIF supported Indico Capital Partners VC I has recently completed its first closing of €41 million from the €46 million of commitments from investors from 8 different countries. The fund aims to identify, invest and nurture the most promising Iberian early stage startups, in particularly those based out of Portugal.

It is the first sizable independent and private early stage tech focused fund to be based in Lisbon, one of the up-and-coming tech hubs in Europe. With a geographic focus, the fund will target investments from B2B SaaS, Artificial Intelligence, Fintech and Cybersecurity to Marketplaces and B2C Platforms.

The Managing General Partner, Stephan Morais (former head of the leading corporate VC Caixa Capital), General Partner Ricardo Torgal (also former Caixa Capital senior investor) and Venture Partner Cristina Fonseca (co-founder and shareholder of Talkdesk) bring together a wealth of investment and entrepreneurial expertise unique in the local market. Past investments of the team include Farfetch, Unbabel, Codacy and most other success stories originating from Portugal over the past 6 years, in addition to Talkdesk itself. The Indico Partners have an extensive global network of major Series A and above investment funds that are key for subsequent financing rounds as well as a group of global experts and advisors that aim to help the portfolio companies reach their goals.

In this first closing of 41 million of the commited €46 million, the EIF (European Investment Fund), the cornerstone investor of Indico, was joined by over 20 other institutional and individual investors such as the IFD (Instituição Financeira de Desenvolvimento) through the Portugal Tech facility, Draper Esprit (a major global quoted VC fund based in the UK), pension funds, education and research institutions, wealth managers, high net worth individuals and many local and international tech entrepreneurs.

Vice-President Jyrki Katainen i, responsible for Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness, said: “I welcome this new Venture Capital Fund supported by the Investment Plan. It will give Portuguese start-ups the financing they need to turn their ideas into concrete projects, grow, and create jobs. Portugal is the third biggest beneficiary of the Investment Plan, with already almost 12,000 businesses set to have improved access to finance thanks to the European Fund for Strategic Investments."

EIF Chief Executive Pier Luigi Gilibert said: “We are pleased to partner with Indico Capital Partners, as a team raising its first independent institutional fund to find and develop good investment opportunities. Going forward, we will continue to focus on similar investments both in Portugal and across the EU to enable the next generation of disruptors to thrive”.

Stephan Morais, Managing General Partner, stated that “this is a milestone for the Portuguese ecosystem, we will keep on supporting the most promising Portuguese, and increasingly Iberian, early stage tech startups, but now with an independent stable investment platform backed by a diversified global LP base.” Ricardo Torgal, General Partner added that “VC is not hype, it’s about building a balanced portfolio and being there for the companies to help them grow to the next stage”.

Cristina Fonseca, Venture Partner, commented that “I have been backing many companies over the past few years as an angel investor and mentor, so it was an obvious decision to join the best investment team in the market with a solid track record. Early stage tech is where my heart is and this is a local nurturing activity before it becomes globally investable and scalable.”

The fund will invest typically between €150 thousand and 5 million per portfolio company over their lifetime - pre-seed to series A, plus follow-on rounds. Target portfolio companies will aim to become global category leaders. The first Indico investments have already been concluded and will be announced soon.