Investment check

A startup is defined as a non-listed company that, at the time of signing the first agreement for the provision of (venture) capital, has been in business for no more than five years and has not been formed through a merger. Spin-offs or new units of existing companies, as long as they are placed in a new legal entity that meets this definition, are also considered startups.

A scale-up is defined as a company with 10-250 employees, where employment or revenue has increased by at least 60% in the past five years.

An SME (Small and Medium-sized Enterprise) is defined as companies that meet the criteria for small, medium, and micro enterprises ("SMEs"). These are companies with fewer than 250 employees and with an annual turnover not exceeding 50 million EUR and/or an annual balance sheet total not exceeding 43 million EUR.

In this regard, SecFund follows the current guideline of the European Investment Bank (EIB) for investing in dual-use technology:

“Investing in a safe and secure Europe by supporting dual-use products, services, and technologies that benefit both civilian purposes and law enforcement or military applications, with a clear market opportunity.”

Please note: SecFund can only co-invest with private investors under identical terms, with the aim of financing a maximum of 50% of the total investment need through SecFund and other public funds. Therefore, the total investment need of your company can be greater than 5 million euros.

There must be no co-investors, subsidiaries, founders, shareholders, directors, employees, interns, freelancers, or seconded persons from one or more of the following countries (high-risk countries):

• The Russian Federation
• China
• Belarus
• North Korea
• Iran
• Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia: Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, Luhansk, Sevastopol, and Crimea
  (This list may change from time to time)

Naturally, none of the involved stakeholders (co-investors, subsidiaries, founders, shareholders, directors, employees, interns, freelancers, or seconded persons) should be involved in criminal activities, be part of a terrorist organization, or be listed on sanction lists.