The Basque Government has set up the HAZTEN SCALE-UP venture capital fund, worth €50 million, to accelerate the growth of Basque start-ups

The HAZTEN SCALE-UP Fund, FCR, managed by the Basque Country Venture Capital Fund, strengthens the Basque Government’s capacity to accelerate the growth of start-ups in the scale-up phase

In the words of Mikel Jauregi, the Basque Government’s Minister for Industry, Energy Transition and Sustainability, “in this era of industrial transformation, the Basque Government is committed to driving the growth of Basque start-ups. It is more necessary than ever to create a new industrial fabric”

Having demonstrated the viability of their business model and passed the initial stage, these projects require capital for their growth. It is at this point that this fund will co-invest alongside private capital

Investments will focus primarily on the HAZI sectors of the “Industry Plan – Euskadi 2030”: aerospace, bio-health, advanced solutions, smart grids and storage, as well as renewable fuels

This Fund completes the call for applications for the “Scalability Investment Programme” announced by the Basque Government and managed by the Basque Institute of Finance (IVF)

The Basque Government, through its Departments of Industry and Finance, has set up the HAZTEN SCALE-UP venture capital fund, with a budget of 50 million euros. This fund will be managed by the Basque Country Venture Capital Management Company.

This fund strengthens the Basque Government’s capacity to accelerate the growth of start-ups in the scale-up phase.

In the words of Mikel Jauregi, the Basque Government’s Minister for Industry, Energy Transition and Sustainability, “in this era of industrial transformation, the Basque Government is committed to driving the growth of Basque start-ups. It is more necessary than ever to create a new industrial fabric”.

Mikel Jauregi adds that “in the Basque Country, we are leaders in the creation of start-ups, drawing on the advanced knowledge of our scientific and technological centres. These start-ups require capital to grow and become viable, sustainable businesses and scale up”.

In his view, “through this fund, we are also stimulating investment in partnership with private capital, thereby promoting public-private collaboration. We are doing this to help our high-tech start-ups accelerate their growth. The use of public-private funds will also help to establish our projects firmly in the region”.

The Basque Government aims to boost the growth of start-ups to create a new Basque industrial fabric. Investments from this fund will focus primarily on the HAZI sectors of the Euskadi-2030 Industry Plan, which include the following sectors: aerospace, bio-health, advanced solutions, smart grids and storage, as well as renewable fuels.

The creation of this fund fulfils the Euskadi-2030 Industry Plan, in line with the Euskadi Eraldatuz 2030 plan.

This Fund complements the call for proposals under the “Scalability Investment Programme” announced by the Basque Government in January through the Basque Institute of Finance (IVF). It forms part of the roll-out of the Euskadi Eraldatuz 2030 plan, a commitment by the Basque Government within the Basque Financial Alliance. It provides for a public investment of €1 billion to mobilise up to €3 billion in private investment.

The Basque Financial Alliance is a key instrument for accelerating the transformation of the Basque productive fabric. It is a vital tool in the face of structural changes and global challenges: the energy transition, digitalisation, an ageing population and strategic autonomy.

To date, several milestones of the Plan have already been achieved. The launch of the Indartuz line of direct financing for industry through loans and guarantees for business transformation projects; the strengthening and adaptation of Finkatuz as a vehicle for establishing leading companies, with recent landmark operations; and the creation of the Indartuz company, focused on major transformative investments in areas such as flexible debt, business scalability, advanced infrastructure and social transition. In this context, new initiatives set out in the Plan will be rolled out over the coming months. These include guaranteed financing lines through Elkargi, new investment programmes from Indartuz, and two new venture capital funds managed by Capital Riesgo del País Vasco: among them, Hazten, with the aim of promoting new industry and emerging sectors