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The Innovation Fund, the first Belgian investment fund dedicated to innovative projects in chemistry and life sciences
€3 million, with a maximum of 10% of our portfolio. We also offer start-ups professional assistance by facilitating access to our main shareholders who can be represented on their boards of directors.
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hat are the key figures and partners of The Innovation Fund? The Innovation Fund was created in 2015 with the help of shareholders sharing the same longterm vision. This fund is unique in its structure, shareholding and ambition, and far away from the mindset of financial funds: it is scheduled to operate until 2027. Since 2015 we have raised €35 million and invested an average of €5 to 7 million per year. A total of 28 investments have been made and two have already been resold. Today, we still have some 15 million euros to invest. Our aim is to achieve 50 investments, about twenty of which are to be resold, in order to build up a portfolio of some thirty holdings. To do so, we can count on our partners who include all the major European chemical companies, the main Belgian universities, and federal and regional investment companies. As an Evergreen fund we have agreed to meet again in 2027: the dividends and unpaid capital gains, by mutual agreement with our partners, are accumulated in equity in order to buy out the holdings of those who would like to opt out of the adventure at that date.
© The Innovation Fund
Could you give us some examples of companies supported by The Innovation Fund? We have made significant investments in materials, processes and life sciences. The first start-up to benefit was InOpsys, specialised in the treatment of industrial process water in the pharmaceutical industry: it developed units installed in containers in order to offer a more ecological alternative to incineration. We also support REIN4CED, which specialises in the development of carbon fibre and steel alloys, shaped by thermoplastics and robotised to produce bicycle frames. This project to reintroduce an activity that has long been relocated to China is in the scale-up phase. Another example is Tools4Patient, which develops algorithms to help predict individual placebo behaviour in clinical studies. I would also like to mention PharmaFluidics, a spin-off of Ghent University that focuses on the production of high-precision chromatographs based on microcomputer technology. To conclude, I would like to mention Spentys: this start-up is developing the scanning, modelling and 3D printing of more flexible, more airy and more suitable splints to replace the standard ones.
What support services and funding mechanisms do you offer to start-ups and innovative companies in chemistry and life sciences? We offer free assistance to start-ups in the form of equity or convertible loans representing 1 to 40% of their capital. This investment is often matched by local investment companies or university-based investment companies. It generally takes place in one or two rounds for an amount between €500,000 and
© The Innovation Fund
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Interview with Mr François CORNELIS, President of The Innovation Fund, Creator of The Innovation Circle
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What do you see as the future challenges for the financing of chemical and life sciences companies? As a seed fund The Innovation Fund is dedicated to the financing of start-ups that are still difficult to finance. Indeed they have acquired proof of concept but are still without a client or in the scale-up phase from laboratory work. It is therefore risky to finance them at this stage and even more risky to find partners willing to take this risk with us. Moreover, it is sometimes tricky to convince the manager of a start-up to raise enough funds and to favour long-term financing which gives him more respite. It is better to become rich in a company where you own 30% of the capital than to vegetate in a company where you lose 70%! There is a third challenge not to be underestimated: that of moving from inventor to entrepreneur, manager and technical director. There is a whole human resources management system to be set in motion. That said, the current opportunities are immense: we are in the midst of an intellectual renaissance and our pipeline of new projects is always full. It’s a really exciting job that ours is! And even if the choice is not always easy, we are betting more than ever on our support and consulting mission. That’s what The Innovation Circle is all about (see next page).
