Invega changes governance of its subsidiary UAB Kofinansavimas

The government-established UAB Investicijų ir Verslo Garantijos (Invega) is changing the management structure of its subsidiary UAB Kofinansavimas by replacing the former two governing bodies (the Board and the Managing Director) with one Managing Director.

As a result of the structural change, the key functions of the Managing Director of UAB Kofinansavimas will be separated from investment decision making. Following the change, Board Members Andrius Barštys, Giedrius Martusevičius and Daiva Gerulytė will stay in the Investment Committee of the venture capital Co-investment Fund and continue their responsibilities in investment decision making.

‘As the activities of the venture capital fund gain momentum, the priorities are bound to change, and we would like the professional and independent members of the Investment Committee to focus on the core activities of the Fund, i.e. investment project evaluation and investment decision making’, claims Kęstutis Motiejūnas, Chief Executive Officer of Invega. ‘We are grateful to the Managing Director and Board Members of UAB Kofinansavimas whose activities in the Board at the start of implementation of the venture capital instrument were particularly significant for both the establishment of the Co-investment Fund and the development of investment project evaluation and investment management processes and rules’.

‘In life, I have always looked for opportunities to have a job that requires a lot of creativity, as this means the development of new products, processes or services. The expectations I entertained when accepting the offer to head UAB Kofinansavimas and create infrastructure for the activities of the Co-investment Fund have been fulfilled more than I imagined’, says Daiva Gerulytė, Member of the Investment Committee of the limited partnership Co-Investment Fund. ‘I am happy about the results achieved in less than two years: together with the colleagues, we have contributed actively to the emergence and enhancement of the business angels’ association LitBAN, have made three investments of more than EUR 0.9 million, and currently we are at the end of negotiations or coordination of agreements with another five groups of business angels concerning investment in start-ups which may amount to EUR 2 million’.

From now on, the office of the Managing Director of UAB Kofinansavimas will be held by Viktorija Vaitkevičienė who has 12 years of experience in the financial sector and holds a Master’s Degree in Economics. Recently her responsibilities at Invega have included the development of new venture capital instruments, selection of their managers and their implementation.

‘As recently the development of the venture and private capital market has been one of the aims of my activities, I hope that the experience gained will allow ensuring the continuity of the jobs begun by UAB Kofinansavimas, i.e. further search for investment projects, their selection and evaluation and the enhancement of the business angels’ market’, claims V. Vaitkevičienė.

The Co-investment Fund is an umbrella fund that at present comprises three sub-funds financed under the following venture capital instruments of the Ministry of Economy: Co-investment Fund (investment allocations of EUR 11 million), Co-investment Fund II financed from the European Regional Development Fund (investment allocations of EUR 9.28 million) and Co-investment Fund MTEPI financed from the European Regional Development Fund (investment allocations of EUR 4 million). The activities of this Fund are aimed at developing the market of business angels and venture capital in Lithuania, nurturing new market participants and this way ensuring broader availability of capital for new and viable Lithuanian companies with limited options to use business finance instruments offered by credit institutions.

In cooperation with private investors, the Co-investment Fund invests in small and medium-sized enterprises. Private investors, such as business angel teams or venture capital funds, can make continuous proposals to the Fund’s manager (UAB Kofinansavimas) for co-investment in viable small and medium-sized businesses or potentially viable projects. Part of the Fund’s investments will be assigned to companies that operate or intend to launch new economic activities in the field of smart specialisation.