August 2020 - February 2021 BGI Consulting experts carried out the preparation of the Innova-FI Project action plan. The project was commissioned by the INVEGA.

 

Together with partners from Portugal, Poland, Spain, Italy, Slovenia, Greece and Belgium, INVEGA participated in the Innova-FI Project, which aimed to improve regional innovation ecosystems and create financial instruments for this purpose. The main objectives of the Innova-FI Project were: 1) foster the implementation of policies and programs for regional development through interregional cooperation and create a strong, competitive and investment-based business environment to drive the growth of jobs; 2) develop financial instruments’ guidelines for innovative SMEs, share expertise amongst Member States in order to find the most apt financing solutions for innovative businesses and thus contribute to increasing the competitiveness of European SMEs.

 

During the creation of the action plan of the Innova-FI Project, BGI Consulting prepared a description (according to the approved official template) of the “Co-investment Fund II”, “Direct Loans” and “Accelerator 2” financial instruments, indicating the logical structure of these measures, planned activities and public or private sector institutions involved, detailed implementation timeline and sources of funding. “Co-investment Fund II” is designed to develop the Lithuanian venture capital market, grow new venture capital market participants and thus provide wider access to capital for new promising Lithuanian companies with limited access to other business financing instruments. The investments are directed at micro-enterprises, small enterprises or medium-sized enterprises, looking to finance their innovative projects. “Direct Loans” is a promising financial instrument for widening the pool of lending alternatives and improving the delivery and effectiveness of business financing. In short, direct lending is an alternative method of debt financing where lenders provide loans directly to companies bypassing any intermediaries. Simplifying the flow of funds by eliminating intermediaries has the potential to achieve greater long-term efficiency in public and private business investment. “Accelerator 2” is aimed at investing in a diversified portfolio of fast-growing companies, which are either in pre-seed or seed (i.e. early) stages. Under the “Accelerator 2”, two separate funds are to be established – the Pre-seed Fund for the implementation of the Acceleration program, including subsidies for participants and pre-seed investments, and the Seed Fund for early-stage investments.

 

The prepared descriptions of the above-noted financial instruments also address their effectiveness, sustainability and impact potential. To sum up, BGI Consulting found that all three - “Co-investment Fund II”, “Direct Loans” and “Accelerator 2” - financial instruments offered by INVEGA have the potential to improve the Lithuanian business ecosystem by promoting more innovation and supporting entrepreneurship.

 

The evaluation report is currently not available for public.