Italian Founders Fund (IFF), the first Italian Venture Capital fund founded by founders for founders, has announced the launch of its €50 million fund.
IFF is supported by a broad group of Italian entrepreneurs from various generations and sectors, all working toward a common goal: to empower Italy’s next generation of remarkable talent and digital innovation.
With almost €50 million in wholly private funds gathered, the fund was created in direct reaction to the Italian entrepreneurial community’s ambition to put Italy on the map of the greatest places in Europe to start a business.
Italian Founders Fund’s investment strategy focuses on becoming the lead investor in the pre-seed and seed stages of creative firms led by Italian founders, whether operating in Italy or abroad, while also being able to target foreign startups interested in accessing the Italian market.
IFF is led by Lorenzo Franzi, a former partner of Global Founders Capital. Lorenzo has an impressive international professional history that includes experience in investment banking as well as founding a digital firm. After several years abroad, Lorenzo has returned to Italy to build the fund in collaboration with a group of top Italian entrepreneurs.
Lorenzo Franzi, founding partner of the Italian Founders Fund, stated:
“A new chapter has begun for the Italian Venture Capital ecosystem. We’ve brought on over 100 founders, including major individuals from Italy’s entrepreneurial and innovation sectors, as well as representatives from the well-established business owner/investor communities. This positions us to put up a fully integrated system that can promote and support Italy’s potential ecology both at home and on the global map. We are certain that by unifying the country’s objectives and abilities, we’ll help design our future economy for the better.”
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Franzi sees the introduction of this fund as a key indicator of maturity for the Italian digital ecosystem, similar to other nations where the presence of VC funds driven by private capital and the experience of successful founders indicates a maturing and increasing ecosystem. Koinos Capital SGR manages the fund, which stands out on the peninsula for its distinctive collaborative community approach.
In addition to finance, IFF provides its portfolio firms with expertise, experience, time, and access to a diverse and highly qualified investor group. Within the IFF, founder investors actively participate in the process of identifying and analyzing investment possibilities, helping the investment team to obtain a more in-depth understanding of the industry and the issues that target firms confront. Further, by becoming the leading investment network for ambitious Italian entrepreneurs, IFF will provide a privileged entrance for international funds seeking to invest in Italy, allowing for co-investment from the start.
IFF intends to complete 25 deals over its investment period, with initial investments ranging from €500,000 to €1.5 million, with the option of accessing an extra €2.5 million in future rounds.
Marco Morgese, CEO of management firm KOINOS Capital SGR, added:
“This type of founder-led fund is already common in markets where innovation is at the heart of industrial development plans. We see them in the United States with Founders Fund, which has been there for about two decades, as well as in Europe with 10x founders in Germany, Galion.exe in France, ByFounders in Scandinavia, and Dutch Founders Fund in the Netherlands.”
