Almost PLN 2 billion to be pumped into New Bridge VC fund

A new program that applies funds from venture capital sources to industrial research and development has received a large injection of funds, according to the National Research and Development Centre (the NRDC) and the Ministry of Science and Higher Education. The NRDC signed an agreement with PFR Ventures to create the NCBR Bridge VC fund, according to the NRDC's press release on Wednesday. The fund, according to the release, will amount to PLN 1.98 billion: half of the funds will come from the NRDC, and the remaining 50 percent will be provided by private investors. "Using modern financial instruments [to] support the commercialization of [results of] research of Polish scientists, the money [via] the 10 VC funds will be invested in small and medium-sized companies operating in the area of ​​new technologies. By providing Polish entrepreneurs with venture capital funds, we create conditions for development and market success," said Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education Jarosław Gowin, who was present during the signing of the contract. Gowin stressed that the fund would support research in a way that there would be an  increase in the return on investments that have been made. Poland's Minister for Development and Finance, Mateusz Morawiecki, added that the initiative would increase the country's innovative economic development. He compared it to similar processes in highly-advanced economies. "In countries such as Korea and the United States [financial support of the innovative economy] is done largely through the involvement of private capital, including large companies and corporate VC funds, which have experience in investing in start-ups and technology companies. However, we are well on the way to catching up with world powers...I am convinced that [this] initiative [will] soon bring tangible results and contribute to increasing the competitiveness of our economy and its dynamic development," he said.