Seed Business Angel Funds; financing for innovative startups
Seed Business Angel Funds are meant for tech and creative startups (0-5 years). These funds invest between €50,000 and €500,000 per startup. Read here how the funds work.
What is a Seed Business Angel Fund?
You need money to start a business. For example, for market research or to develop a prototype. With money from a seed fund, you can often grow faster as a startup.
A Seed Fund is a special venture capital fund that targets innovative start-ups with an innovative technical product or service. Examples include sustainability, digitisation, or healthcare innovation.
What are business angels?
Business Angels are often experienced, entrepreneurial investors. They not only invest money, but also support you with their knowledge, experience, and network. A Seed Business Angel fund includes a minimum of 2 and a maximum of 10 business angels. Each business angel invests a minimum of €100,000. The government doubles their total investment, thereby encouraging investment in young, innovative startups.
The Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) has a overview of all Business Angel Seed Funds (in Dutch).
Applying to a Seed Business Angel Fund
Seed Business Angel funds are relatively small. So they usually target a specific sector or industry. You can apply for seed funding from the fund directly. A Seed Business Angel Fund buys shares in your business and invests a minimum of €50,000 and a maximum of €500,000 per startup. Find out on the website of the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) if seed funds exist for your business or sector.
Foreign investors
The admission scheme for foreign investors in the Netherlands has been simplified.
Customer Due Diligence (CDD) and foreign investors
If your company attracts a foreign investor, for example in the form of an equity stake, you should contact your bank before the investment is actually made. This will enable the bank to carry out the Customer Due Diligence (CDD) process correctly, as is their obligation under (amongst others) the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing Act (Wwft). Part of this process is gaining insight into money flows (from abroad) and, sometimes, the organisations and persons involved.
If a new foreign investor becomes involved in your company, and the ownership structure of your business might change as a consequence, you will have to inform the bank of these changes beforehand. The bank will then inform you of the information or documentation it needs to carry out their CDD policy. This also enables you to prepare for the actual investment by a foreign party in your business. You can start collecting the necessary information yourself, while requesting part of the information from the intended investor. This may prevent delays and disappointments in the process later on.
Get help with financing
When you apply for funding, you must meet the conditions. An advisor will help you build a strong case and carefully consider what information the fund needs from you. This will increase the likelihood of your application being approved. Read more about business financing help and advice on KVK.