Rome: Rome and London-based Lumen Ventures an early stage venture capital firm, has launched its approx. €25 million maiden fund. After obtaining authorization from the Bank of Italy as the first Simple Investment Company (SiS) in Italy, Lumen Ventures begins its adventure of investing in tech SMEs and startups with high growth potential.
‘SiS’ is a lean investment vehicle, and was legally introduced for the first time in 2019. It is aimed at raising capital from private individuals to boost innovation, via venture capital. SiS are allowed to collect resources of up to a maximum of €25 million, for investments in unlisted small and medium-sized enterprises that are in the experimentation, establishment and startup phase.
Lumen Ventures has fulfilled all the criteria to become a SiS, and therefore now launches its around €21.5 million fund. The finance will be to be invested over four years into a number of sectors, including fintech, insurtech, healthtech, and foodtech. They are looking for early stage startups to meet their ‘criteria of excellence’, regarding business model and growth potential.
