The anchor investor of the Practica Venture Capital II fund is Invega, which invested through the financial instrument Development Fund I that was established by the Ministry of Economy and Innovation of the Republic of Lithuania, financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The rest of the funds were committed by Practica Capital together with a number of other local and international investors.
At this last stage of fundraising, Swedbank Investment Management, the largest tier-II pension fund manager in Lithuania committed €2M to the fund. Of all pension funds operating in Lithuania, this is the first-time investment in an early-stage venture capital fund in Lithuania.
"The fact that investors from our region are showing confidence in Practica Capital is a great sign of appreciation and encouragement for us. It is important that our investor base are experienced institutional, public and private investors who have good knowledge of the Baltic market and opportunities that it provides. We see a global potential in modern and high value-added businesses emerging in our region. Partnering with such businesses is the foundation of our work and value creation”, - says Donatas Keras, Partner at Practica Capital.
"We believe that our investment in the Practica Venture Capital II fund, in the long run, will ensure a solid return on accumulating pensions and at the same time contribute to the development of the start-up ecosystem in the Baltic region. We will continue to analyze the opportunities to invest in various instruments in the local region, ie infrastructure projects, small and medium-sized enterprises, start-ups, real estate, companies listed on the Baltic Stock Exchange”, - says Tadas Gudaitis, Director of Swedbank Investment Management.
The fund will focus on early-stage venture capital (“VC”) investments in the Baltics (Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia) and Baltic-origin (e.g. Baltic diaspora, other Baltic connection) ventures in Europe. Investments in one company range from €500k up to €2.5M and more. In addition to financial resources, the fund manager also provides assistance in addressing important strategic, development or other operational issues, as well as access to an international network of investors and capital markets. Since the establishment of Practica Venture Capital II in 2019, the fund has already made 14 investments in companies, among which we can find such already well-known companies as Ziticity, Oxipit or PVCase.
“We are one of the most experienced and one of the most active early-stage venture capital investors in Lithuania and the Baltic States: since our start in 2011, we have made more than 50 investments. In addition to the direct team experience, we utilize a wide network of business partners and technology entrepreneurs, as well as a base of experienced venture capital investors. We are a reliable partner for both our fund's investors and entrepreneurs creating innovative and technology-based global businesses”, - says Tomas Andriuškevičius, Partner at Practica Capital.
