The European Innovation Council (EIC) announced on Friday 30 September that the European Commission has appointed an external fund manager (AIFM), AlterDomus Management Company S.A, the Luxembourg AIFM arm of AlterDomus, as part of the restructuring of the EIC.
The manager will make decisions on which “high-risk, high-impact” start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises are selected for EIC investment. 139 companies currently receive funding.
The fund manager’s decisions will have to comply with the investment guidelines of the EIC Fund, which implements the equity part of the EIC. The external manager will be supported by an expert advisory board.
The first investment decisions are expected to be taken in October and others will follow. In order to speed up the receipt of the grant element of the support by companies selected for EIC investment, a simplified procedure has been decided. The Commission has removed the need, as of 1 October, for EIC Accelerator funding decisions to be approved by the College of Commissioners.
The EIC believes that this simplified decision procedure will shorten the time between a company’s application for funding and the receipt of the first tranche of grants to around 5 months. The EIC Board aims to bring this timeframe closer to 5 to 8 months.
Link to the EIC Fund investment guidelines: https://aeur.eu/f/3cv (Original version in French by Émilie Vanderhulst)